York County debt collection plans bring reservations

By EUGENE PAIK - http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_8474878
For The Evening Sun
Article Launched: 03/06/2008 10:13:11 AM EST

The director of York County's adult probation department told county commissioners Wednesday he has some reservations about bringing in a collection agency to recover overdue court debts.

"I'm just not sure right now is the time for a collection agency," Al Sabol said when commissioners asked him about it during a report on his department's in-house debt collectors.

Last week, the county commissioners hired Pittsburgh-based Credit Management Co. to help the county Clerk of Courts office chase debtors.

The firm would handle the county's older cases and charge debtors up to 25 percent in added costs.

"However, before we move forward, I think what we need to do is exhaust all of our resources first, which we are really expanding," Sabol told commissioners. He declined to comment after the meeting and said he first wanted to discuss the contract with county Common Pleas Court President Judge Richard Renn.

The county's debt collection unit consists of six positions from the Clerk of Courts office and the adult

probation department. The group was formed last year, with two positions in the clerk's office and four in adult probation.
A collection agency was needed because the unit's two sides have different sets of resources and caseloads, Clerk of Courts Don O'Shell said Wednesday.

President Commissioner Steve Chronister said he wants more communication between the two sides but added that Sabol's concerns shouldn't force any changes.

"There was some miscommunication," Chronister said. "We just want to make sure everyone's on the same page."

In other business:

* The county commissioners unanimously authorized the search for a company that will provide gypsy moth spraying on up to 500 acres in Rocky Ridge and Apollo county parks.

Because of eligibility reasons, the area wasn't part of the 6,650 county acres approved for the state spray program, said Chuck Noll, county administrator/chief clerk.

About $13,000 is reserved for the project in the county park system's 2008 budget.

Spraying should be done this spring.

* The commissioners discussed the ranking of projects they want considered for federal earmarks - congressional funds designated for specific plans.

A request for upgraded base stations in local police stations for the county's Mobile Data Computer system - a total of $54,000 - was ranked as the top priority. The system connects police vehicles and stations to county control dispatchers.

Other requests, in order of priority, were:

* $280,000 for countywide pandemic planning;

* $20,000 for a trailer that connects to the county's Mobile Command & Communications Vehicle;

* $3.2 million for wireless communication technology for police officers; and

* $4.2 million for a plan to improve the Codorus Creek watershed.