The Municipal Court Reform Act of 2004 provides the authority for municipalities to set court costs. Court costs are to be set by municipal ordinance. T.C.A. § 16-18-304(a).^[1]

The law does not specify an amount, leaving the amount to the discretion of the city. However, the city should ensure that there is a rational basis for the court cost.

Court costs are designed to offset the cost of maintaining the court. Even when a violator pays before court and does not appear for a court hearing, there still are costs associated with maintaining the court. It is suggested that the city charge uniform court costs for all charges, regardless of whether the defendant appears in court or pays before court. Otherwise, clerks should be prepared to defend any amounts that are greater by proving that the statutory amounts are insufficient to pay for reasonable costs of operation.

^[1] One dollar ($1.00) of the court costs shall be forwarded by the municipal court clerk to the state treasurer for deposit and shall be credited to the account for the administrative office of the courts (AOC) for the sole purpose of defraying the administrative director's expenses in providing training and continuing education courses for municipal court judges and municipal court clerks.