The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

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October 25, 2009

Carthage court clerk appointed

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — A new Carthage Municipal Court clerk has been named, and other efforts are under way to improve court operations, police Chief Greg Dagnan said.

Kim Christensen started work in the court post last Monday. She has been with the city for 10 years and was the department’s lead communications officer, the chief said.

She fills a post that was vacated when a worker was fired for “policy violations” after officials discovered that a “significant” amount of money collected as court revenues appeared to be missing.

No arrests have been made and no charges filed, but officers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating the missing money at the city’s request. The probe, which includes forensic accountants, started in August.

“I talked to them about two weeks ago, when they were down collecting another box of documents,” Dagnan said. “They said they thought it would take another month.”

Dagnan, who oversees municipal court operations, said he was alerted to discrepancies while working on ways to improve efficiency in the court. He said he was reviewing court deposits, and he asked for an outside investigation because deposits from the fines looked “off.”

Additional changes have been made in an effort to improve court accountability, and more are planned, the chief said.

Christensen’s selection as court clerk came after a search that attracted about 25 applicants.

“We interviewed five or six people, and she stood out — which is nice, because we already knew her as a good employee,” Dagnan said.

Another recent change is a requirement that fines be paid at the Police Department from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The change is to allow the court clerk to reconcile payments at the end of every business day.

“Before, if you wanted to pay a fine at 3 a.m., the dispatcher would take it,” Dagnan said. “But the dispatcher could be the same officer who wrote your ticket, filling in for someone on a lunch hour. Now, only court employees will take fine money. The court clerk won’t take money, but she’ll track it to make sure it’s done right.”

Lynn Campbell, city clerk, has been added to the municipal court account for oversight of the system by someone outside the Police Department. Campbell and Dagnan also are working on a proposal to move court clerk operations to City Hall.

“It would be its own department, with Lynn as department head,” Dagnan said. “It won’t increase the court staff, but there would be more people there who could handle tickets. It would make the system better and more secure.”

Campbell and Dagnan both noted that the plan will not advance past the proposal stage until it is approved by City Council committees and the full council.

The concepts have been endorsed by the public services committee and discussed by the council, said Tom Short, city administrator.

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