EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – Municipal court is no longer collecting money for the Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System via surcharges. On Aug. 2, the City Council passed an ordinance abolishing a section of the municipal code requiring “an additional court cost” to go toward the fund. The approval follows a Missouri Supreme Court ruling in June that such fees violate the state Constitution. “Judges ruled that the sheriffs’ retirement fund is not related to the administration of justice, meaning those fees are not allowed,” City Manager Molly McGovern stated in a July 29 memo and pointed out again to city leaders before the vote. Municipal court surcharge collections ceased “immediately,” McGovern stated. Still, staff needed “the council to consider repealing the fee by ordinance,” she stated. ...