County Enacts Unique Program to Collect Overdue Fines

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

Parmer County, Texas, is trying to recoup about $122,000 in fines from convicted offenders. As it turns out, however, the convicted offenders in question haven’t been too eager in paying their financial debt back to their community.

So Parmer County, in conjunction with some ads and a collection agency, is trying to help the scofflaws help the county and themselves by not messing with Texas.

Parmer County Justice of the Peace Pamela Haseloff told the Clovis News Journal that advertisements were placed in a pair of local publications, each listing the name of the offender and the offense. Haseloff said the advertisement did not list how much money individuals owed.

And if the ad doesn’t work? Parmer County has approved hiring a collection agency to do some follow-up. After 14 days, the offender receives a reminder. After 60 days, the collection agency takes over the account.

“With us being a clerkless court, we had to find other means to be able to get collections back,” Haseloff said. “It all relies on the judge, and it’s a lot of work.”

Haseloff said people who don’t pay fines can be subject to jail time and/or revocation of a driver’s license, but said, “We like to try to give them every possibility (to pay) before we go to that extreme.”

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