Ohio court to use debt collection to recoup fees

The Montgomery County clerk of courts will turn to a debt collection service to recoup more than $42 million in court costs. The Ohio court says the problem is 10 years in the making, and now the clerk, Gregory Brush, says it is about time the court does something to get the money back. Earlier in January, two Ohio-based debt agencies began working on the court's backlog by issuing summonses to those with fees needing to be paid for either civil or criminal cases, Brush told the Dayton Daily News. Brush also told the paper that the court has collected approximately $4 million over the last two years, but that the number hasn't covered half of the people who owe money. Any positive expectations Brush may feel regarding complete collection were muted by Miami County clerk of court Jan Mottinger, who said cases like this are often tricky to solve because debtors are "indignant." In New Hampshire, the state court system will begin a new process of collecting fines to deal with its own debt issues, the New Hampshire Union-Leader reports. The paper states that the court will use a private firm to collect approximately $15 million in outstanding fees.