By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorWright City aldermen rejected a proposal to double the municipal court fines, a move that would have provided more funding for Turning Point.The nonprofit organization had requested increasing the court fees imposed on those convicted of municipal violations from $2 to $4.According to a letter submitted to the city from Turning Point Executive Director Ellen Reed, the state Legislature authorized the $2 increase in 2014. The increase can only be imposed if a municipality or county commission passes a local ordinance or order to allow for the fee increase.The funds are dedicated to support the operating costs of domestic violence shelters, a move that was made by state lawmakers in 1991.Turning Point provides emergency shelter and other support services to women and families. Each year, the agency serves at least 230 women and their children in person.City officials had concerns that the fee request was a way around the Hancock Amendment, which requires voter approval before taxes or fees can be increased and whether the decision should be made by voters.“That is the issue I’m having at this time,” Alderman Jim Schuchmann said. “I’m all for the domestic shelter, but it’s a question we need to take to the voters if they are in support of a tax to do it. If they are, we need to support it as a tax where everybody in the community participates and not just the people who are unfortunate to have made a mistake or broken the law.”Officials also indicated they were leery of raising court fees following changes to the state law related to municipal courts.Earlier this year, legislators passed Senate Bill 5 which limits how much revenue municipalities and towns can collect from minor traffic citations. The new state law took effect Aug. 28.Defendants facing minor traffic violations will not pay more than $300 for fines and court costs, and will not be charged fees for failing to pay fines or appear in municipal court. The state law caps the amount of revenue collected from minor traffic violations at 20 percent and 12.5 percent for St. Louis County and the municipalities within it.The previous cap was 30 percent.The changes were prompted in the aftermath of the Ferguson riots in 2014.Wright City