The Norman City Council made it a little more expensive to get a citation, and got a lot more serious about collecting on those tickets at its meeting Tuesday.

The council approved a change to city ordinances which increases the cost of City of Norman court fines from $25 to $30.

The fees are in response to a 23-percent increase in citations issued between 1999 and 2009, said Ronda Guerrero, court administrator. The costs have been $25 per citation since November 1999, she said.

Anyone receiving a ticket for speeding or other traffic violations, possession of marijuana or alcohol-related offenses will pay the new court costs if he or she either simply pays the fine or sets a court date on the matter, according to both Guerrero and the city council agenda.

The new court costs do not affect parking tickets, unless a person receiving a citation sets a court date in regard to that ticket, Guerrero said.

Judges have the authority to waive court costs in case of indigence, and may do that, said Carol Dillingham, council member from Ward 4.

The council also approved a contract with an Austin, Texas, collection agency to collect on delinquent court costs, fines and penalties. The agency will add a 25-percent fee to the total cost of the past-due citations as a fee for its services, according to the council’s agenda. The company will receive no money from the city outside of that fee, the agenda states.

Both measures were approved unanimously. Rachel Butler, council member for Ward 5, was absent.

The bulk of the meeting’s time was used to hear a proposal from Sean Rieger, an attorney for J&J Properties, to change the planned usage for a 350-acre tract of land in northwest Norman. The land, bounded by 36th and 48th Avenues and by Indian Hills and Franklin Roads, was designated for very low-density residential uses in the Norman 2020 plan, according to the agenda. It will now be open to mixed use.

The council approved the change unanimously.