“The one thing I would like the Commissioners Court to know is that I love my job and am glad we have the opportunity to have a Collections Department with the tools needed to perform my duties to the best of my ability.” Melissa Brown, Aransas County Collections Specialist
Melissa Brown began her career with Aransas County in the county clerk’s office seven-plus years ago working with official public records. For the last three years, she has served as the Aransas County Collections Specialist.
Brown collects all county court at law criminal fines and court costs, as well as criminal payment plans for the district clerk’s office. Her collection rates average around 95 percent monthly receipted for payment plans assessed in i-Plow, a collections software program.
“Over the past few years collection rates have increased, and my defendants have been doing their best to fulfill their obligations,” Brown shared.
At their annual meeting last year, the Governmental Collectors Association of Texas named Brown Collector of the Year. County Progress invited Brown to share the strategy that helped earn her this prestigious honor.
CP: Do you have a basic plan you follow that leads to successful collections?
MB: My basic plan that I found brings the most success is first providing my defendants with a payment agreement sheet that outlines a payment plan following their court date and educating them on how to make the payments online with an instruction sheet. I use i-Plow, a collections software program that sends out automated text messages and phone calls. i-Plow is also integrated with Govt Portal, a payment portal that gives defendants access to their balance and monthly payment due and allows them to make payments directly. i-Plow has been an invaluable tool for my collections, as they send all the reminders out, which frees up my time to work with other defendants who need a little extra help.
CP: Do you meet with any clients in person, and if so, do you have advice on how to best help them?
MB: I make it a point to meet with defendants. I find that meeting them face to face builds rapport and increases the odds that they will follow through on their payments. The only clients I don’t meet in person are the ones for payment plans sent to me by probation or parole. The most common advice I give to clients is to stay in contact with me and pay what they are able. Not all clients will be able to make their payment amount in full every month. I also remind them that payments can be made with community service hours, as well. I always assure them that being upfront and keeping in contact with me is the best solution to making the process better.
CP: Suppose a county were to launch its own in-house program and came to you for tips on how to be successful. What advice would you share?
MB: My first piece of advice if a county were to launch its own collections program would be to get a software system. Software systems are needed to keep track of collections and send notifications and reminders, and they are essential to the core duties of collections. In my experience, using i-Plow helps significantly with keeping in contact with defendants. Without continuous contact with defendants, they will get confused and miss payments. If defendants are not constantly reminded, they will forget.
CP: What is your relationship with the Commissioners Court? What would you like the Commissioners Court to know about your job?
MB: While there may be some collections departments that are directly under the Commissioners Court, my department is deeply integrated with the county clerk’s office and the county court at law. I am not in constant contact with my Commissioners Court and usually only see them when submitting my monthly report on collections. The one thing I would like the Commissioners Court to know is that I love my job and am glad we have the opportunity to have a Collections Department with the tools needed to perform my duties to the best of my ability.