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Clerks try to collect $2 million in fines By MEG LANDERS From Ashland to Rogue River, municipal courts throughout Jackson County are owed a lot of money from unpaid fines. Based on available information, there's about $2 million in delinquent fines, mostly from traffic violations. Some citations date back to the late 1980s. Collection efforts are under way. In cities like Rogue River, Ashland, Central Point, Phoenix, and Gold Hill, the city clerks are having some success with re-suspending driver licenses of those with unpaid fines.
"In less than a year we have cleaned out $100,000 by re-suspending licenses," said Katrina Blanton, municipal court clerk in Central Point. A large portion of the offenses are driving while suspended or driving while uninsured, Blanton said. "If we end up getting hit by these people, we're the victims," she said. A lot of the people are repeat offenders, Blanton said. "My largest account from one defendant is $13,080," she said. "I take their driver's license away from them," said Carol Weir, "but they can still drive." Weir has been Rogue River's deputy recorder/court clerk for 18 years, and is frustrated with the large number of people who have neglected to pay their fines. "When I first started, when you were driving while suspended, you were arrested," she said. "I've seen people who have been caught driving while suspended 25 times. "It's just too easy for them to get behind the wheel of a car." For many people, they don't have the money to pay off their fine, Weir said. That's why the city of Rogue River offers another option. "We started a community service program so people can work off up to 48 hours," she said. The program, in place for 10 years, allows people to diminish or clear away their debt, by sweeping streets, washing vehicles, and raking leaves at minimum wage. There have been other efforts. The city of Phoenix offered an amnesty program that allowed a license reinstatement to those who would pay half their balance, but response was small. Rogue River and Medford have found some success with turning their delinquent fines over to a collection agency. Even collection agencies, which work on a contingency basis, struggle with retrieving the money owed. "They're a little tougher than normal accounts," said April Farquhar, president of General Credit Service in Medford, which handles Rogue River's account. Because the citations have limited information and often old addresses, it's hard to track down a lot of the people, said Farquhar. Tracking them down is not the only issue. "Sometimes they don't have the resources to pay it off," said Farquhar, who estimates that they recover 25 percent of Rogue River's money. Most of the city clerks attribute the backlog of unpaid citations to insufficient staffing and funding. "We're not computerized," said Lori Paxton, city recorder/court clerk in Butte Falls, where unpaid citations have been accumulating in a file drawer. "It's kind of a mess right now and I'm trying to reorganize it," said Paxton. "It would be nice if we did get the money and I know our police officer would like to collect," she said. "We have other priorities right now." |
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