Rollingwood City Council unanimously approved the use of funds to allow the municipal court to receive credit cards, both online and on-site.

The approval comes with the stipulation that the project is not to exceed $4,200 with an annual fee of $2,000.

The initial cost is to integrate the payment system with the case management system used by the city, allowing the court clerk to manage driver safety courses, receive ticket payments and keep track of warrants.

"From an efficiency point of view, if we get this set up and someone pays their ticket, [the system] automatically discharges it so it doesn't even have to come to court," Rollingwood Mayor Barry Bone said.

"The system will seamlessly track all fees associated with tickets and fines into the case management system, so what goes to the state, what goes to the city and how that ties into warrants does not have to be done by the court clerk," Alderwoman Susan Jenkins said.

"Hopefully it will increase the amount of people who actually pay their tickets because they can pay with credit cards," Jenkins said.

Those choosing to pay with a credit card will have to pay a projected $2.50 convenience fee for online use. No date has been set for when credit cards will be accepted.

The council also approved changing the start of court and jury trials to 6 p.m. in order to allow for cases to be handled at a faster pace.

"This is so they can get a lot of cases taken care of very quickly," Jenkins said.