Hawaii Speeds Ticket Collections Electronically

Hawaii traffic fine collections have increased sharply since Hawaii started using an electronic system to send information to a collection agency to pursue the delinquencies, according to a report in the HonoluluAdvertiser.com.

The state updated from a manual system to an electronic system in October to send referrals to Gila Corp., doing business as Municipal Services Bureau. Gila CEO Patrick Swanick credits various technologies and the company’s personnel for the firm’s 18 to 20 percent growth “over the last several years,” (“Government Collections Offer Growth Curve for MSB,” April 22).

MSB has had the Hawaii contract for about three years (“Municipal Services Bureau Awarded State Contract,” May 4, 2005), collecting nearly $4 million in that time. About one third of Gila’s 300 employees work on the contract for Hawaii, one of the company’s 20 largest clients, according to the report.

Swanick told the Advertiser that the collection rate for Hawaii had risen to 14 percent from the low single digits since the state upgraded its computer system to automatically send and receive delinquent account information between the state and MSB via a secure electronic interface. He expects the recovery rate to eventually reach 20 percent.