Tennessee city to use collection agency for outstanding court fees

The city of Franklin, Tennessee, is considering receiving help from collections to recoup outstanding fines and court costs, WKRN-TV reports. Franklin already deploys a collections agency to recover money from outstanding utility bills, and is now mulling over the idea of hiring another company to recoup the nearly $700,000 it is owed. More than $460,000 predates the 2009 fiscal year, while some outstanding balances date as far back as the mid-1990s. "We do have some that linger on," city administrator Eric Stuckey told the news source. "This is another set in the business process in getting those things closed out." He added that he plans to focus on "the more recent ones," due to a statute of limitations that dictates how far back debts can be accounted for. According to CreditCards.com, the statute for Tennessee credit card debt is six years, and it's likely the time frame for court fees is similar. WKRN-TV notes that the city is still probably "several months" away from hiring an agency, but plans on putting out a call for proposals soon.