[Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut

Wed Aug 6 14:25:50 EDT 2025

Sorry.  I was overly vague in my response.  They did collect penal fines, but it was about half as the previous years.  For the county it was around $68,000 and last year it was $131,000.  The county dispersed what they had, but said that they can’t disperse what isn’t collected by the courts.  

So I have to assume that our officers are being rather lenient with tickets.  Maybe I should start speeding!  😊 

From: Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC at michigan.gov> 
Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 12:52 PM
To: WCCL Amy Stockwell <amy at whitecloudlibrary.org>; michlib-l at mcls.org
Cc: Hamlin, Joseph (MDE) <HamlinJ2 at michigan.gov>
Subject: RE: [Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut

So , just so I understand, the courts did not send any penal fines to the county treasurer?

That sounds pretty suspicious to me – I’ll send Joe a note and we’ll confirm this.

There are sometimes some misunderstandings about what is a penal fine – either Joe or I will get back to you.

Clare

Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D.

Library Law Consultant

Library of Michigan

MembielaC at michigan.gov <mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov> 

517-335-8132

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From: WCCL Amy Stockwell <amy at whitecloudlibrary.org <mailto:amy at whitecloudlibrary.org> > 
Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 12:48 PM
To: Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC at michigan.gov <mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov> >; michlib-l at mcls.org <mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org> 
Cc: Hamlin, Joseph (MDE) <HamlinJ2 at michigan.gov <mailto:HamlinJ2 at michigan.gov> >
Subject: RE: [Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut

CAUTION: This is an External email. Please send suspicious emails to  <mailto:abuse at michigan.gov> abuse at michigan.gov

Thank you!  

I am good friends with our deputy treasurer for the county and my text to her was “Do we no longer arrest people in this county??  What happened to my penal fines?!”  They simply didn’t collect them so there isn’t anything to disperse.  I was kind of hoping that it was actually a diversion so I had someone somewhere to blame other than the judge who might try one of my cases someday.  😊 

From: Membiela, Clare (MDE) <MembielaC at michigan.gov <mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov> > 
Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 12:33 PM
To: WCCL Amy Stockwell <amy at whitecloudlibrary.org <mailto:amy at whitecloudlibrary.org> >; michlib-l at mcls.org <mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org> 
Cc: Hamlin, Joseph (MDE) <HamlinJ2 at michigan.gov <mailto:HamlinJ2 at michigan.gov> >
Subject: RE: [Michlib-l] Penal Fines drastic cut

Hello Amy:

Joe Hamlin, who manages the penal fine program for LM, is on vacation until the end of this week. I can tell you, however, that all of the information we receive from the County Treasurers regarding the amount of penal fines they distributed has not yet been fully received and analyzed.

Penal fines can be affected by many factors including caseload, changes in the laws, local police enforcement, etc. Penal fines vary so drastically from county to county, the amounts other libraries received may not be of much help to you in why yours were less.

It is unlikely a diversion (which actually rarely happens)  but if you e-mail Joe at hamlinJ2 at michigan.gov <mailto:hamlinJ2 at michigan.gov>  and let him know how much you received and your concerns, he can assist you.

In addition, you should contact your county treasurer because they are the best source to explain how they arrived at the amount of money you received.

I “cc’d” Joe on this e-mail and he will see it when he returns.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Clare

Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D.

Library Law Consultant

Library of Michigan

MembielaC at michigan.gov <mailto:MembielaC at michigan.gov> 

517-335-8132