The Columbus City Council Tuesday unanimously voted to enter into an agreement with American Municipal Services, a Texas-based company, to collect money on outstanding warrants.
Deborah Sivira of American Municipal Services told the council state law enables the company to “locate defendants” and collect fines as a “free service” to the city.
Noting 60 to 80 percent of “defendants” are found, with 20 to 30 percent of those likely to immediately pay their debts and 10 to 15 percent either to be deceased or imprisoned, she added the company will keep 25 percent of the collections.
Accounts must be delinquent at least 90 days and cannot be more than 15 years old to be collected by American Municipal Services, which operates in nine states and more than 350 cities, including about 50 cities in Mississippi.
The city has the option of getting out of the agreement within 30 days, should services prove unsatisfactory.
At a previous City Council budget workshop, Municipal Clerk Lou Dudley said the city is owed about $4 million in delinquent fines.
“I think that $4 million, even if it’s not going to be popular,” Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem said at the time, “needs to be aggressively tackled.”
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