Chattanooga City Court Clerk Anthony Byrd said his office is making a renewed push to gather uncollected fines and fees, which for some individuals have reached as high as $10,000 and even more than $20,000.
Some outstanding fees and court costs date to 1987 and can range from driver’s license violations to overgrowth and littered or abandoned properties. Byrd recently shared a list of 11 people with outstanding obligations spanning from a low of $1,365 to a high of $24,129, although he said that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“I see files that are $1,000, $2,000, $6,000, $8,000, $9,000 — just consecutive people that are frequent fliers, and we need to get them taken care of,” Byrd said in a phone interview.