by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
An unexpected decrease in revenues has put entire state on a fiscal diet, but there are ways to ensure some of those monies continue to reach government coffers.
The City of Jacksonville’s Parking Facilities and Enforcement Division enlisted the help of a collection agency to recover overdue fines from parking violations 10 years ago and that relationship continues to help the City’s bottom line.
“The sole issue is that it is a very labor intensive job to chase people down who haven’t paid a citation,” said Robert Carle, Division Chief of the City’s Parking Facilities and Enforcement Division. “So they do all the leg work that we don’t have the time or staff for.”
Law Enforcement Systems, Inc. (LES) is a provider of debt collection and Division of Motor Vehicles data acquisition services specializing in the collection of motor vehicle violations including parking, toll and traffic fines.
Parking enforcement officers can cite drivers for a variety of violations from $15 for overtime parking to $250 for misuse of handicap parking. Vehicle owners are given 15 days to pay the fine or set a court date to dispute the citation in court. After 15 calendar days, a $10 late fee is added to the citation and after 30 calendar days another $15 late fee is added, for a total of $25 in additional fees. If the citation remains unpaid after 40 calendar days, the citation is given to LES to collect and a collection fee of 40 percent of the total due — the original fine plus late fees — is added to the violator’s account.
“Number one, we are a collection agency and people are afraid of that when they are notified,” said Dawn Carrier, vice president in charge of client services for LES. “People think the cities are just going to let them fall through the cracks. But when we contact them they are more likely to pay. They realize it just isn’t going to go away.”
Even though an account is handed to a collection agency, it isn’t reported to credit bureaus. But LES has been in business long enough to know how to get results.
LES opened in 1982 and is based in Long Island City, N.Y. They were first awarded a contract with Jacksonville in 1998 and have been subsequently renewed in 2002 and 2008 when the contract when back out for bids. The City also reviews the contract each year to decide if it wants to continue to use the agency.
LES serves municipalities and universities throughout the country and, also, Miami-Dade County, Ft. Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach and Key West governments in Florida.
One of the more appealing reasons Jacksonville contracts with LES is that there is no upfront cost to the City.
“We work on a contingency basis,” said Carrier. “So the City isn’t charged unless we collect.”
Carle sees the relationship benefits both the City and LES.
“The Legislature recently passed a law that allows us to include a charge of 40 percent of the total fine onto the account to recover collection costs,” said Carle. “The collection agency keeps 25 percent of what it collects, so it’s a win-win situation.”
The City also utilizes a “tag renewal stop” that prohibits someone from renewing their registration until they are current with all parking citations.
Another more noticeable deterrent to delinquent citations is the wheel boot. This yellow lock may be attached to a car if the owner has a total of three unpaid tickets that are 30 days old. The owner must pay their fines plus a $50 removal fee to get the boot unlocked.
Parking violations and fines
356-2466