City councilmembers have given the green light to continue Arlington's participation in the Electronic Warrant Payment Program, which allows jailed individuals to pay and clear warrants for multiple jurisdictions at one time and in real time.

Back in 2013, the City of Arlington began partnering with NCTCOG and several cities, including Carrollton, Grand Prairie, Euless and Plano, to offer this service. The Electronic Warrant Payment Program does not cost the cities anything to participate. A credit card processing fee assessed to the defendant pays for the program's cost.

So how does the program work?

Defendants, friends, or family members can pay for citations, outstanding warrants and for bail/bonds with a credit card by telephone or website, eliminating the need to visit the jail for payment. This can be done for any of the participating cities' warrants.

According to Erin Roseman of the Arlington Municipal Court, taxpayers should know the Electronic Warrant Payment Program has been a huge productivity and time-saving tool.

Not only does it reduce the amount of time spent by the police department in transport and the cost of jail occupancy, it provides faster collections of outstanding fines for the Municipal Court, and reduces check processing for Arlington's Finance Department.

Learn more about the Arlington Municipal Court.