The city of Athens has recovered thousands of dollars in unpaid parking tickets since hiring an independent contractor in June 2005 to recover old tickets, said Athens Police Department Capt. Tom Pyle.
Athens City Council passed an ordinance in April 2005 to authorize the hiring of Complus Data Innovations, Inc., which provides the city with computer hardware, software and collection services, City Auditor Kathy Hecht said.
Hecht estimated Complus has brought in $60,000 in unpaid tickets to date, but the number will level off as soon as all the back tickets are paid. She said the city estimated parking ticket revenues would be $260,000 for 2005 but turned out to be $336,000 - though she said the unexpected increase was not exclusively because of Complus, which began collecting in July.
"It has definitely given us an opportunity to collect big money from outdated tickets and the ability to have updated technology," Pyle said, adding that those with more than $50 in unpaid parking tickets will not be unable to renew their driver's licenses under the new system.
Athens has signed a three-year contract with Complus, which offered the "cheapest bid (for a service) that had everything we wanted," said Hecht.
In addition to charging a flat fee, Complus keeps a percentage of all tickets collected - 9.5 percent for collection from Ohio drivers and 20 percent from out-of-state drivers, Pyle said.
"We're spending money now, but we're improving our rate of collections," he said.
Complus has started issuing notices for unpaid tickets from up to two years ago and will look back to issue notices for older unpaid tickets, Hecht said.
Complus is able to collect out-of-state tickets more easily because it has contact with the bureaus of motor vehicles in all states, Pyle said.
"We used to do that here, and it took considerable man hours," he said.
In addition to collecting money from tickets, Complus has provided Athens' parking services with a new computer and hand-held devices for entering parking ticket information, Pyle said, adding that the technology will replace APD's 15-year-old system.
Complus has "innovative ways to collect on tickets," including a web site where tickets can be paid using a credit card, Pyle said.
"It has definitely increased productivity," he said.
Complus, which is headquartered in Tarrytown, N.Y., works with municipal and university police departments and tailors its services specifically to match a department's needs, Stephen Hittman of Complus said.
"We perform this service for many cities nationwide, and we're happy to be serving Athens," he said.