NATCHEZ — Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess believes that if someone owes a civil or criminal fine, they need to pay it — the problem is keeping up with who has paid and who is in contempt of court.

Vess will check to see if a defendant who appears in his court has previous fines and will hold a contempt hearing right then, but currently many non-payers slip through the cracks.

“There is a lot of money out there that could be gotten,” Vess said. “The people who have committed some serious misdemeanor offenses, they’re more or less sandbagging the county.”

As judges, neither Vess nor the other Justice Court judge, Patricia Dunmore, are statutorily allowed to directly pull files for contempt of court. That’s the job of the chief clerk.

And the clerk — who does not work for the judges but for the Adams County Board of Supervisors — is busy enough as is, Vess said.

Instead, he said he would like to see if the supervisors could direct someone to help him with the contempt- of-court hearings and the collection of fines.

“I want to be clear that I have no disagreement with (Clerk Audrey) Bailey,” he said. “The clerical staff works for her and the board of supervisors, so if they take a passive interest in collecting fines, I have always been a proactive judge.

“I figured that if they were the lead dogs they should direct the staff to work with me or give me somebody who can work with me.”

Supervisor Mike Lazarus said he supports the idea of having a part-time clerk to help with contempt hearings and collections.

“We feel that they could pay for themselves down there collecting overdue fines, and still make money for the county,” he said.

The collection of fines won’t only help serve the interests of justice. It will also help clear up accounting headaches for the county, Lazarus said.

“Let’s say Joe Blow owes the county $150 from 1950,” he said. “As long as it is uncollected, that stays on the books forever.”

Vess said he would also like to see the county adopt some kind of amnesty program this spring, where those with overdue fines could come in and pay what they owe without additional penalties.

The supervisors expressed support for such a program in 2011, but nothing came of it. Bailey declined to comment, saying the decision rested with the supervisors.