Island Lake to go after more outstanding tickets
Island Lake plans to extend its contract with a collection company to pursue more drivers who have not paid their village-issued tickets.
The village board agreed to pay TekCollect an additional $1,250 to pursue another 250 drivers who have not paid tickets — mostly parking violations — issued by the police department.
The village hired the Ohio-based firm in July to collect fines on outstanding tickets, some of which date back to 1990. A representative from TekCollect told the board he expected the village could collect up to $10,000 in overdue revenue from outstanding tickets.
TekCollect has so far collected $1,220 for the village, which paid $1,250 to the company to begin the first phase. Mayor Deb Hermann said this money was collected on 15 of the original 250 accounts, explaining drivers may have multiple tickets.
Village Trustee Thea Morris said that as TekCollect begins the second phase, they will continue to pursue the first batch of drivers.
“They will continue to work on the ones that they already have on hand. They do not drop them. They continue to work on getting payment for those as well,” Morris said.
As part of the contract, TekCollect calls the motorists and writes a letter on the village’s behalf. The $10 fee the company charges is added to the fine to be paid by the driver.
Morris said the first phase included individuals who were issued older tickets. The second phase will include tickets issued more recently, so the company may have better success as it makes new calls.
“The probability, statistically, is we should have a better return rate because we should have better addresses and better contact information,” she said.