How did a suburban Chicago village conduct its due diligence in identifying a collection agency that could collect on unpaid parking tickets and false alarms?
Village staff has recommended hiring Municipal Collections of America, following research completed by Kelly Green, assistant to the police chief, who contacted area municipalities for recommendations and checked ratings from the Better Business Bureau.
MCA’s proposal included a fee – to be paid by debtors – that represented 35% of the amount owed. The village is looking into whether the fee can be tacked on to the amount owed. If it can’t, then the fee would be deducted from the total balance. It is about more than the money, said Zach Creer, the assistant to the village manager.
“It’s really not so much about revenue than it is about enforcement,” he said. “We need to be able to collect fines when there are violations.”
There are about 850 unpaid parking tickets, representing a total of $63,000. Parking tickets can remain unpaid until 10 tickets are issued to a particular vehicle, at which time the owner’s driver’s license could face suspension.
