you can potentially keep it off of your record. Hire a lawyer. It will cost more overall to hire the lawyer, but it isn't the cost now that's important, it's what having something on your record could cost you later if you get charged with something else that you also just have a misunderstanding about that would then be harder to defend because this is already on your record. You may even luck out and get it somehow dismissed without a "guilty" plea being submitted with a good defense, but I think the plea-in-abeyance route is more likely to be successful in this case. You can request a plea-in-abeyance on your own without a lawyer, but in having to defend yourself, you may unknowingly say something that incriminates yourself - prosecutors are good at getting unprepared defendants to do just that.

Disclaimer: Not actual legal advice, because I'm not a lawyer, and I'm sure there are viable counterarguments. This is just my understanding, and I may not really know what I'm talking about.

Counterarguments: The "what if something happens later" statement could just be a fear tactic by some lawyers to dig up business. Even if dismissed, the charge will still show up on a government background check and you will be required to disclose it anyway for certain jobs. As others have said, though, many employers will treat this no worse than a moving traffic violation even if convicted. There are more, I'm sure.

In Short: Nothing wrong with ultimately paying a small fine (my opinion) - just protect yourself the best you can.