Bastrop County Streamlines Program, Sets Stage for Client Success
Officials were not surprised when the Bastrop County Collections & Compliance Department earned a statewide honor for its fine and fee collection.
Department Director Maridel Borrego accepted the Governmental Collectors Association of Texas 2023 Collections Program of the Year Award on behalf of her staff during the association’s annual conference last fall.
“Maridel does an excellent job leading her staff in the Collections & Compliance Department for Bastrop County,” shared Bastrop County Commissioner Mark Meuth. “Since 2019, Maridel and her staff have increased collections by over 40 percent for our county.”
423rd District Judge Chris Duggan echoed Meuth, saying the people of Bastrop County should be thankful for how hard the collections staff works on behalf of the taxpayers.
“I know the number of collections for Bastrop County have greatly increased under Maridel’s leadership,” he emphasized. Duggan also noted how the collections staff treats clients with respect as they interact in the courtroom.
“Our main goal is to assist people who are going through a hardship and need reassurance that we are here to help,” Borrego explained. “While we work to ensure all orders set by our Bastrop County courts are met, our ultimate goal is for the defendant to achieve success.”
Borrego has been working with collections for the past 11 years, where she has helped it evolve from individual collectors in every court to one centralized collections office for the whole county.
The Collections & Compliance Department was nominated for the Program of the Year Award by a staff member who has been with the team since 2018.
“She saw our office’s ups and downs throughout the years, but she also saw the dramatic changes as well,” Borrego said. The department began as a small, two-person unit working under the Bastrop County Treasurer’s office while trying to navigate different procedures for different courts. As of 2019, the department is now a stand-alone sector with two additional team members. The department has streamlined procedures for collections for all courts in the county and has kept the Commissioners Court apprised of increases in revenue. Other improvements include:
- building a good reputation with judges, court staff, and defendants on payment plans;
- implementing QR codes for easier access to online payments and completion of payment plan applications;
- implementing iPads in the court and in the office to help expedite paperwork completion; and
- conducting monthly team meetings that allow the office to set goals and pinpoint what is working or needs to be adjusted within the department.
The Bastrop County Collections & Compliance Department continues to operate under the Office of Court Administration rules but has implemented some changes “that have far bettered our collections process,” Borrego detailed. The county uses i-Plow software for payment plans and due diligence, as well as Odyssey software to process all payments to the defendants’ accounts.
“We’ve found that an increased focus on communication with defendants as well as finding practical solutions motivates defendants to work harder toward paying their fees,” Borrego elaborated. “We always like to say, ‘Something is better than nothing,’ so if defendants are unable to make their scheduled monthly payment or have fallen behind a month, we always ask them to pay something instead of nothing.”
If defendants make a partial payment and it is clear they are trying, the department will modify their plan to avoid a return to court, she continued.
Community service in lieu of payment is an option that is given on a case-by-case basis per judge approval. Bastrop County offers this to help defendants who are for some reason unable to pay monetary fees and to help alleviate costs by having to house the defendants in jail.
“Having community service as an option helps move stagnant cases that might not be able to be closed due to financial reasons and helps the nonprofit organizations in our community,” Borrego observed.
Counties interested in beginning an in-house program or growing their program may want to start the process by having a meeting with all decision-makers for each court.
“Having everyone on board with the same information and goal is your ticket to success,” Borrego emphasized. “Courts at times have different procedures, but if you can streamline your collections procedures across all courts, it will make your path to success much easier.”
Another plus is having staff members who are willing to go above and beyond to help defendants succeed.
Borrego coaches her staff to take the following approach: “When a defendant steps foot in our office, regardless of their criminal charge, they will be treated with respect.”
“That, to me, is the first step in building good rapport with defendants,” she concluded.
Outsourcing Collections
If the Bastrop County Collections & Compliance Department is unable to collect on a case, it may be returned to the judge’s office and outsourced for fine and fee collection; in these cases, Bastrop County courts use Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott‚ LLP (Perdue Brandon).
The Texas Legislature has given counties the authority to assess a 30 percent fee on a delinquent fine or fee when contracting with a private attorney or public vendor to improve collection of balances more than 60 days past due.
Potter County Justice of the Peace Gary Jackson’s court also uses Perdue Brandon.
“The benefits are increased revenue to the county without having to hire additional staff to do only collections,” Jackson shared. “This saves our people a tremendous amount of time and effort. Also, doing it ourselves would not be as successful because we don’t have the databases to do the tracking and searches for people that they have.”
Brazoria County Justice of the Peace Jack Brown also uses Perdue, Brandon to collect delinquent fines and fees.
“Along with my office’s ongoing efforts and our vendor’s services, I am satisfied my court is doing all it can do to collect those past due amounts owed to my county without extra cost to the county,” Brown reported.
The office of Medina County Justice of the Peace Phillip M. Lange uses i3 Verticals, LLC, for delinquent fine and fee collection.
Clerk Andrea Aguilar, who has been spent some 19 years with the county, said using the third-party collection option has “saved us the 10 steps we had to take to collect on these cases.”
The increase in revenue “speaks volumes,” Aguilar said.
Ward County Justice of the Peace Danny Bustos’ courts also contract with i3 Verticals. Bustos serves two Ward County precincts.
“It’s amazing how much money they have collected for us,” he noted. “We have saved both money and time.”
