NATCHEZ — Residents of Natchez with outstanding municipal court fines will be given the gift of amnesty for one week.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen approved Nov. 10 through Nov. 14 as Amnesty Week.

Judge Jim Blough explained that any resident who may have an outstanding court fee that would result in the issuing of a bench warrant can come to the municipal court during that week and pay the fine in full.

Under the protection of amnesty, said fine-payer would not be charged with the additional $25 bench warrant fee or be arrested to serve jail time.

Blough said it was upon City Clerk Donnie Holloway’s suggestion that the week take place to get money.

Holloway said without these fines being paid, there’s money that’s accessible but just not being tapped into.

“We’ve got a lot of income sitting out there, and I noticed a lot of cities that do this and a lot of them have been successful. It’s income owed to the city, and we could use it,” Holloway said.

Blough said the court fines could range from a low-ball traffic ticket worth $145 to misdemeanor charges that carry fines of $350 or more.

He said the system just becomes cumbersome with so many overdue court fees and to-be bench warrants and this is a way of clearing things up. Police Chief Mike Mullins said amnesty week will also help free up his officers.

“When those old warrants are there, we constantly have to look for these people,” Mullins said.

Part of officers’ daily routine is patrolling for people with outstanding warrants and this will help save time, he said.

“This prevents our officers from having to waste time to find that person,” Mullins said.

This is the first time Natchez has ever attempted an amnesty week.

Blough said it depends on how this trial run goes whether there will be another. If all goes well, he said the municipal court will more than likely have an amnesty week every two years.