Lauderdale County may provide courthouse parking, and certain county officers may be deputized to ticket parking violations.
(a) The Lauderdale County Commission is hereby authorized to provide adequate parking for petit jurors, grand jurors, witnesses, and employees of the state and county having offices in the county courthouse. The commission may furnish parking through the acquisition and operation of parking lots by contracting with any private or public agency for such purpose, under such terms as it may deem necessary and desirable, or by reimbursing those persons covered by this section for their reasonable personal expenses in securing parking. (b) Upon the request of the commission, the Sheriff of Lauderdale County shall deputize the county engineer or any other employee of the engineering department or of the sheriff’s office to enforce one hour parking limitations and restricted zone limitations on motor vehicles parking on the county’s property around the courthouse during courthouse hours, and the deputy shall have the authority to place a parking ticket on any motor vehicle violating these regulations. The deputy shall be further authorized to place tickets on motor vehicles blocking other vehicles lawfully parked or parked in spaces not provided for public parking. (c) The violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and the fine therefor shall be set at three dollars ($3) plus court costs; provided, that in the event the fine is voluntarily paid within 10 days from the date of the violation, no court costs nor any other fees shall be charged in connection therewith. Persons violating this section shall pay their fines and court costs to the circuit court clerk. All monies collected as fines shall be paid to the Lauderdale County General Fund each month. Court costs shall be disbursed as provided by law. In the event the fine is not paid within 10 days from the date of the violation, the deputy shall proceed to handle the case as in other traffic cases made by the sheriff of the counties. Cases shall be tried in district court and shall be prosecuted by the district attorney.