Texas collection agency set to gain by pursuing traffic fines
By Ken Kobayashi
Advertiser Courts Writer
If you don't pay your traffic fine, a collection agency may be calling on you.
And now, the amount you pay would include an additional 21 percent of what is owed when a Texas-based company selected by the state judiciary begins collecting outstanding fines from traffic violators.
It's the newest attempt to deal with a long-standing backlog of thousands of traffic bench warrants yet to be served. Warrants are used to haul violators into court to pay fines. The number of warrants for O'ahu has been as high as 80,000.
The new plan doesn't set well with some drivers.
Roger Moser of Honolulu and Alfred Freitas Jr. of Kaimuki approve of finding a way to take care of the backlog of unpaid fines, but they question the wisdom of using a Texas collection agency.
"I think those who don't pay traffic fines are cheats," Moser said. "They are scofflaws. Collecting the fines, I think, is a good idea. But it is a damn shame that they had to go out and get a Texas outfit to do it.
"How about a local outfit? Or, how about using the money that will be collected to hire more sheriff's deputies?"
Freitas also believes that hiring a private company is a bad way to go.
"I think it is scary," he said. "You want my opinion? I don't like it.
"I would prefer to see the state use its own people. Anytime something goes out to a private company, there is a profit motivation involved, just like with the van cams (a failed program aimed at catching speeders on camera)."
Hundreds of thousands of traffic and parking citations are issued each year, according to the latest judiciary statistics.
Gila Corp., which does business as Municipal Services Bureau, will be contracted to review and collect on some 27,000 outstanding traffic cases involving about $3.75 million in fines, and an estimated 4,000 new traffic cases a year involving an additional $1 million in fines, judiciary officials said.
They could not say when the company will start collecting, but say they hope it will be as soon as possible, perhaps sometime this year.
The company will turn over to the state the money it collects on the debts. But it also will charge as its fee an additional 21.21 percent of the amount it collects, judiciary officials said.
If Municipal Services cannot collect after two years, it will report the outstanding debt to credit bureaus, they said.
Lt. Frank Dela Rosa, who is in charge of the warrant section of the Sheriff's Department, said he only has a dozen officers to serve warrants, but their priority is high-risk felony warrants.
Although police officers and deputies serve the traffic warrants on motorists who are stopped by authorities for other possible violations, no one is dedicated full time to search for people and serve traffic warrants because of the lack of resources, he said.
"That's where the problem lies," Dela Rosa said.
The latest attempt to deal with the bench warrant backlog is part of an effort by the judiciary to switch to a new computer system. The judiciary convened a task force that has resulted in the recalling of "stale" traffic bench warrants.
Roughly 20,000 traffic warrants on O'ahu have been recalled. These include warrants issued before July 1994. Also, traffic warrants from 1994 to 2001 have been dropped, except for those involving serious traffic cases such as drunken driving, reckless driving and racing.
In addition, state judges have been issuing default judgments in traffic cases rather than bench warrants. The collection company will be able to use the judgments to collect the fines.
Marsha Kitagawa, judiciary spokeswoman, said the reasons for contracting the company include increasing the amount of money collected from delinquent fines, fees and other debts owed to the state "through a more focused and dedicated approach."
It also provides an alternative to the penal process, improves enforcement of judgments and reduces the amount of time spent by judges and clerks in collecting the debts, she said.
Municipal Services, which was established in 1991, collects fines and fees for county and state courts around the country. It works with about 450 courts, state judiciary officials here said.
Kitagawa said the company will start collecting outstanding fines and fees once the judiciary's computer system is online and a contract with the company is signed.
The contract will be for five years with options to renew for two additional one-year periods.
Officials at Gila Corp. did not immediately return a call seeking comment yesterday.
Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030. Staff writer Karen Blakeman contributed to this report.
