Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services Department

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Vicki Stanwix, Municipal Court Administrator

Toni Wheeler, Director of Legal Services

Date:

June 8, 2010

RE:

Municipal Services Bureau Contract Extension

 

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda.

 

Background

On July 1, 2009 the City renewed its contract with Municipal Services Bureau for the collection of past due municipal court fines.  The contract is reviewed annually and may remain in effect until June 30, 2012 as appropriate.  After reviewing the performance of Municipal Services Bureau for the past 12 months, I would recommend that the City extend the contract with this company for an additional year.  

    

  1. MSB has a good collection rate, especially on older cases and parking tickets.  To date, we have submitted a total of 17,381 cases to MSB.  The average collection rate for all types of cases is 36%.  However, the collection rate is 38% on older cases and 44% on parking cases.  Additionally, the City of Lawrence has one of the highest success rates with MSB in the State due to the integrity of our data.
  2. The court is able to export cases to MSB directly through Full Court.  This saves the court a great deal of time and very few agencies provide this functionality.
  3. Court staff are able to access client records online to view all action taken on cases. Municipal Services Bureau introduced the web application earlier this year and it has greatly enhanced the level of customer service we are able to provide to citizens.
  4. Municipal Services Bureau provides excellent customer service.  The court has submitted over 17,000 cases to MSB and only 3 complaints have been presented at the supervisory level.  This record is extremely good given the nature of the business.
  5. Municipal Services Bureau specializes in court collections.  The staff at MSB are very knowledgeable in court terminology which is helpful when speaking to defendants.

 

Funding and Cost

Municipal Services Bureau contracts with the City at no cost.  Commission is not billed until payment is received and is equal to the collection fee we charge, allowing the City to retain 100% of the fine owed.

 

Action         

Authorize staff to retain Municipal Services Bureau for court collections for an additional 1-year term.