Lots of municipalities are dredging up old, unpaid bills/fines/whatever in an effort to offset lost revenue due to past and current economics. It's quite possible an old unpaid bill got caught up in a recent audit.

Assuming they can provide proof of responsibility, and proof it won't hit your credit, I would probably just cough up the $44 to be assured it doesn't hurt you down the road. We all spend way more than that with a day at the range.