News
   Valley Center
   Park City
   Kechi
   Bel Aire
   School
   Sheriff
   Police & Fire
   Deaths
   Looking Back
   Heard on Main Street
Municipal Court
Sports
   School Sports
   Rec League
People
   General
   Birthdays
   Engagements & Weddings
Opinions
   Editorials
   Letters
   Commentary
Columns
Church
Advertising
   Classified
   Legal
Kechi sending unpaid court fines to collections 
By David Dinell
Last Updated: April 16, 2015

If you owe money to the City of Kechi through an unpaid court fine, expect to be contacted. 

The city council approved a new contract April 9 that allows an outside agency to seek money from delinquent court fines. It's part of the city's effort to watch expenses and bring in the revenue that it can. At stake is $25,887 through 127 outstanding court cases, most involving traffic tickets. Not a huge amount in the scheme of a multi-million dollar budget, but, as the city's finance director and treasurer, Nicole Bailey, pointed out, it's money that is legally the city's — and every penny counts. 

"You start with the money on the table," she said. 

The contract is with Carrollton, Texas-based American Municipal Services, a company used by at least eight other Kansas cities to collect fines. Under the agreement, the service receives a 33 percent fee with each case. That's on top of the fine owned. 

The company has a recovery rate of 40 percent to 60 percent, according to Bailey, so Kechi can estimate recovering $10,355 in the next 12 to 18 months. 

The city has already tried to collect the fines. Bailey said the city has sent out past due notices and suspended driver's licenses of offenders. Still, the offenders have not responded. 

"We're at a dead end with them," said Police Chief John Blevins. While a suspended license is a serious offensive, if the individual is out of state, it's not worth the time and expense of extradition, Blevins added, a fact that they likely are aware of. 

Many offenders have moved and changed phone numbers, making finding them difficult. However, AMS has access to huge national databases that can find out where the offenders currently are, Bailey said. 

"They will track these folks down," she said. 

Offenders who have died or are in prison can have their cases dismissed by the court, others are still liable. Bailey said the company works to not harass the people it's calling and will limit calls to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and no calls on Sundays. All the contact will be by phone or mail and there will be no personal contact, she said. 

Before the approval, council members expressed concern about privacy issues and data breaches in which personal information could be released and the city sued. 

"We need to check on their insurance," said member Deb Jacobs. Kechi city staff said they were confident that the company has necessary coverage, but told the council that they would verify it. The council went forward with the contact with the condition that such insurance was in place and the city would not be liable for any possible data leaks. 

Mayor Ed Parker also wanted to be keep up to date on the collection process, which Bailey said she would do. Bailey also stressed that the action of enlisting an outside collection agency is fully within the rights of the city, an authority granted to it by the state.

The collection effort is expected to get underway soon, city officials say. 

In other action, the council:

•Was introduced to the city's new officer, Clarence Lundry, who started March 31. Blevins said everything is working out smoothly with him and his transition into the department and life on the beat. Blevins also reported that he has met with other officials on the new police server, held spring firearms training and assisted the Union Pacific Railroad with its CARES program, which involves promoting public safety near railroads. Blevins monitored the tracks on 61st Street and Oliver and reported no violations. He also attended a Kansas Department of Transportation conference on safety. Topics included enforcement decisions, recognizing human trafficking, driving safety and "the enhanced car stop." 

•Received a report from City Administrator Bob Conger. Conger reports that he has been meeting with officials from other cities who are interested in forming a purchasing cooperative. The initiative is in the early planning stages. The concept is to pool resources for projected major projects and capital improvements. Conger also said that he has been meeting with people who are interested in buying city-owned property at the corner of Kechi Road and Snowbird. 

•Was informed by Laura Hall, city clerk, that she has finalized an agreement with Kristy McFarland of George Lay Signs for the city's new marquee. Hall also met with a mason to assess the amount of stone needed for the project, which will be just south of City Hall. In addition, Hall reports that she will be serving as vice president of the executive board for the Kansas Municipal Gas Agency. 

•Heard Zach Edwardson, associate planner with WAMPO, the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, present an overview of MOVE 2040, the agency's 25-year transportation plan for the area. WAMPO is made up of 22 cities — including Kechi — in three countries. It is charged with planning for the arena's transportation needs and wants using funds from the federal gasoline tax. The MOVE 2015 plan is expected to be approved this summer, he said. Among the plan's findings is that 95 percent of the area's residents have a private vehicle. It projects is that the number of single-person households in the area to rise in the future with an aging population. Edwardson said planners need to have a regional focus and have now adopted what is called "performance-based planning," to score outcomes. 

"Transportation is the area's lifeblood and needs to be safe, well-maintained and efficient," he said. 

•Listened to an review of the city's strategic plan by Mitch Coffman, lead planner of Professional Engineering Consultants PA of Wichita. The blueprint has already been reviewed in a council workshop, so Coffman's review was more of process of expanding the review to more parties.

"It's a continuation of the (planning) process," he said. City officials said they were pleased with PEC's work. 

"We think they have an outstanding product," Conger said.

Added Parker: "This is a pretty good plan. We'll see how it goes." 

•Took in a report from Larry Kallenberger, superintendent of the maintenance department. Among its recent work: staff has been installing some of the new meter reading devices, fixed two water leaks, serviced the City Hall sprinkler system and got the brush dump ready for Clean Up Day, which was April 11. In addition, officials were getting bids on a new 3/4-ton 4x4 basic truck to replace a 10-year-old Chevrolet. The budget calls for the replacement this year and those bids will be submitted to council at the next meeting. 

Went into executive session for 20 minutes for attorney-client privilege. No reportable action was taken. All five council members and the mayor were present. The next meeting is at 7 p.m. April 23 at City Hall. 





Trending Stories
Legals SEDGWICK COUNTY PUBLIC NOTICE

Valley Center Wrapped in love

Valley Center City trims street projects

Valley Center Student enrollment sees a small dip

Valley Center Contact The Ark Valley News

Other Sections
News

Sports

People

Columns

Opinion

Contact Ark Valley News | Archives