MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) The city of Mobile added an additional night court hearing this week to make it more convenient for residents to pay fines and attend traffic court hearings.
City officials stated paying fines or attending a hearing can be difficult for residents at times. To make getting to court easier, the city added a night court hearing on Wednesdays. In the past, residents could only attend night court hearings on Tuesday.
"One of the reasons the mayor wanted to add on an additional court is first to make it convenient for those trying to take care of those traffic cases," said Executive Director of Administrative Services and Community Affairs Barbara Drummond.
City officials hope the extra night court hearing will cut down on long lines and also catch people who cannot make it to Municipal Court during normal business hours. Court hearings will start at 5 p.m. until as late as 9 p.m at the Civic Center downtown.
"We're trying to take away those excuses. You don't have to say I can't take off of work or I can't get down there when you are open. I can't find a parking space. All of those are being taken away," said Drummond.
Mobile has accumulated a large amount of traffic cases over the years, and city officials hope the extra time slot, different location, and abundance of parking will make it easy for people to take care of ticket violations.
"That is mainly the reason why we're doing it because that's money that's actually owed to the city of Mobile and to the taxpayers," said Drummond.
The city plans to pay overtime to accommodate extra hearings. Officials said the overtime will be worth it if more resident pay their fines.
