MiddletownJournal.com

FRANKLIN — Earl Hipsher knows he needs to dent the more than $1,700 he owes in court fines.

But trying to erase his debt with an unemployment check while raising two children seems nearly impossible. And, it will be if he cannot pay by the end of September when the court passes his debt to a collection agency, which will tack on a 30 percent surcharge.

"I don't know what else to do," said Hipsher, whose latest driving violation added another $600 in fines.

The 42-year-old Franklin resident is among the 2,300 defendants who combined owe the Franklin Municipal Court roughly $800,000 in outstanding fines through April, according to court records.

In all, 5,300 cases from those defendants have unpaid fines, a small percentage of the 113,700 cases during the 20 years the fines have accumulated.

Agency hired

Earlier this year, Judge Rupert Ruppert hired Capital Recovery, a debt-collection agency, to bring in those funds. The Columbus-based firm handles fines for 170 courts in five states.

"It's a problem every court has," Ruppert said.

For courts, the allure of companies like Capital is strictly financial: the company charges the courts nothing and, instead, tacks a 30 percent surcharge onto offender's fines.

And the Franklin court is not alone in reaching out for help. Capital also runs collection for Preble and Montgomery counties and Miamisburg and Dayton.

"It was an untapped market," said Craig Klein, Capital president.

Klein said he gambled when he opened the collection agency 10 years ago.

Klein said his company's 30 percent charge compensates for criminals who don't pay.

"The hard-core criminals that live in and out of the courts will never pay," Ruppert said.

But it also means that first-time offenders or those looking to avoid credit problems must bear the burden.

Jail time delays payment

Defendants, including Kevin Florence, have their fines stayed while serving jail time. Florence owes the city $1,600 but was indicted in connection with a bar stabbing.

Some violators owe for unpaid parking tickets or minor infractions that cost no more than $50; but others have racked up thousands in court costs, fines and restitution to victims.

And many of those with larger tabs do have outstanding warrants for their arrest, but Ruppert said sending them to jail would not only prevent them from paying fines, it also would cost taxpayers $60 a day per offender.

The court is in the midst of converting to a computer system provided by Capital and could not give exact figures on fines paid since April.

Ruppert insists, however, that the rate of collections have risen recently.