TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Metro Council to Nix Monthly Probation Supervision Fee

Posted by: Kate Prince on Jul 27, 2021
News Type: Legal News

Metro Council last week voted unanimously to eliminate a monthly $35 probation supervision fee billed to those on probation, the Tennessean reports. The vote is part of a series of reform measures Metro Nashville is implementing to relieve financial burden on criminal defendants and to reduce recidivism. Councilman Brandon Taylor says the Council wanted to help those “already down on their luck” and “give people a chance to get back to society without being financially burdened.” Taylor chairs Metro’s 37208 special committee, which was created in 2019 to tackle the high incarceration rate in the neighborhood. The committee has recommended reducing fines and fees, a strategy that a 2020 study from the PFM’s Center for Justice and Safety Finance says is vital to reform. The probation supervision fee was established in 1991 at $20 a month before being increased to $25 in 2006 and to $35 in 2008. Revenue collected from the fee went into the city’s general fund. Metro has set aside $662,500 in the fiscal 2022 budget to make up for the revenue.

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