Two Government Collection Contract Wins Make Local News

From the open arms of Texas to the Amish charm of Pennsylvania – collection agencies are finding more and more work as the go-to guys for unpaid city bills.

With good reason. Collection agencies have the staff and resources to devote solely to collecting, whereas municipalities are often at a loss to keep up with the demands. Too often, local governments are forced to write off thousands in bad and uncollected debt.

Jasper, Texas, has entered into an agreement with National Service Bureau for the collection of delinquent utility accounts.  City Manager Alan Grindstaff told the Jasper Newsboy that the city is owed $386,500 for bills that are more than 90 days past due.

And in Blair County, Pennsylvania, commissioners are looking to hire Credit Management Co. to collect money owed to the county’s Cost and Fines Office.

Cost and Fines Director Lydia Pupo told the Altoona Mirror that she expects to present representatives of Credit Management Co. with 4,000 to 5,000 cases, dating to 1999 or before, naming those who owe between $75 and $15,000.

Credit Management will concentrate on older cases, ones in which the county either holds a bench warrant or hasn’t been able to locate the debtor.

If and when Credit Management finds a debtor, the agency will allow a maximum of six months for the county’s bill and its 25 percent fee to be paid, Pupo said.