County Makes It Easy: Charge It, Officer

Fined for speeding and a little short of cash? Not a problem if you were ticketed in Stevens County.

Your plastic is good now in Stevens County District Court.

The court has teamed up with a California company called US Audiotex that allows people to pay traffic tickets with a credit card and push-button telephone. Customers may call a toll-free number, (800) 465-5326, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to pay their fines.

US Audiotex uses an automatic answering system to screen calls and verify credit cards. Customers pay $7.95 for the service. The company assumes the risk and doesn’t charge the county.

Nothing about the court process will change, District Court Administrator Betty Durbin said. Cash is still welcome.

“It’s another option, especially if they’re running into a crunch or something,” she said. “I’m hoping it will be a good thing.”

The system applies only to District Court traffic citations, not criminal cases. Other Washington counties using the service are Grant, Okanogan, Pacific and Clallam. , DataTimes