By George Slaughter
Katy will be a participant in the 2020 Texas Great Warrant Roundup. The program is a statewide warrant enforcement effort to find and arrest citizens with outstanding warrants for not paying or resolving overdue their traffic tickets with any Texas state court.
To encourage case resolution, the Katy Municipal Court has arranged a safe harbor court date to enable all individuals with outstanding warrants to clear their cases without fear of being arrested. The court date is set for 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on March 28 at the Katy Municipal Court, 5432 Franz Rd.
Faviola Rodriguez, a municipal court clerk, said Katy has participated in the roundup program since 2017, but this year was the first time that the safe harbor court date has been set for a Saturday.
Those with outstanding warrants are being given door hanger reminders, courtesy of the Katy Police Department.
“The patrol officers are helping us out because there are a great number of warrants within the Katy city limits,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the municipal court collected approximately $20,000 in fines last Wednesday and Thursday. She said much, but not all, of the money came from warrant payments.
Rodriguez said that as of last month, over 4,000 municipal warrants were pending in the Katy area.
Full payments can be made by money orders or cashier’s checks made payable to Katy Municipal Court. Cash is not recommended and personal checks are not accepted.
Citizens with overdue tickets have several options to pay their tickets.
- In person during court hours, which are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. The court has a 24/7 dropbox in front of the building. Payments can also be made via U.S. Mail.
- By phone, by calling 1-800-444-1187 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
- Online through the city’s payment website at https://www.municipalonlinepayments.com/katytx.
Citizens unable to pay in full can request more time from the judge on that day. Cases will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, and citizens are asked to bring a picture ID.
After the Safe Harbor Court Date, Katy Police will seek to arrest those with outstanding warrants. Once arrested, outstanding fines will be due in full or those arrested will serve time in the Katy Jail.
For more information, call the Katy Municipal Court at 281-391-4810.
“They can call us and we’ll give them all the information,” Rodriguez said. “I hope people will take advantage of coming in. If they don’t take advantage, then the next knock on their door will be for an arrest.”
In other action, the council:
Mayor Bill Hastings presents a proclamation to Celia Patino, left, and Laura Portales Monday at City Hall – George Slaughter photo
- Issued a proclamation designating March as Bleeding Disorder Awareness Month.
- Approved the BP MS 150 Bike Ride, set for May 2-3. Bicycle riders will gather at the Legacy Stadium parking lot to begin their ride.
- Accepted public improvements for Cane Island.
- Authorized Hastings to sign proposals with Datavox, Inc., and Datacom & Security Solutions, Inc., for security camera upgrades.
- Authorized Hastings to sign a letter of agreement with Texas Emergency Educators to present a class to certify Katy Fire Department personnel as drivers/operators for aerial apparatus equipment.
- Authorized Hastings to sign a planned maintenance agreement for maintenance and testing of the emergency standby generator for Fire Station #2.
- Authorized Hastings to sign an archive bound book loan agreement with the Katy Times to display its newspaper archive books at the Johnny Nelson Katy Heritage Museum.
- Awarded a $356,700 bid to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., of Pinehurst, Texas, for the 2020 asphalt street renovation project. The $419,122 total project cost includes the contract bid amount, contingencies, engineering, and inspection.
- Awarded a $120,267 bid to Supak Construction, Inc., of Orchard, Texas, for the 2020 waterline renovation project. The $147,823 total project cost includes the contract bid amount, contingencies, engineering, inspection, and surveying.