Commuting Options Prompt Collection Agency Move

A collection agency in suburban Seattle is moving its headquarters a few miles down the road so that employees can take advantage of better commuting options, company officials told a local paper Monday.

Bothell, Wash.-based Receivables Performance Management (RPM) will also add some 75 jobs at its new headquarters in Lynnwood by the end of the year. The collection agency already employs 260 in Bothell. The firm also operates an office in Portland, Ore.

"While we cannot control escalating fuel prices, we're committed to providing our employees with commuting options, and that includes relocating our headquarters along a main metro transit line for those who choose to utilize public transportation routes," Howard George, president and CEO, told The Daily Herald of Everett County.

RPM will be leasing a 30,000 square feet of office space at the new location.

David Kleitsch, Lynnwood's economic development director, told the Herald that RPM had examined other locations in the Seattle area before deciding on his town. "What people are looking at is the ability to be close to transit and auto and to have things to do, like going to lunch or buying business or personal services,” he commented.