06/25/13 Marshall County Clerk, Julie Fox asked members of the County Commissioners for approval to hire an Indiana collection agency to assist with recovering money due the county for child support annual maintenance fees and juvenile judgments.
Eagle Accounts was approved and will begin the process of collecting over $1 million dollars owed to the county with approximately 4,000 cases.
Fox explained that IN state statue allows the clerk to charge an annual fee of $55 to payees of child support. These funds are used to pay for postage, checks and bookkeeping. The arrearage accumulated between 1979 and 2012 amounts to 3,612 cases totaling $808,000. Although her office attempts to collect the funds by sending out letters, it’s not always successful.
The County Clerk told the commissioners that she has 298 total cases that are outstanding between 2006 and 2012. Those juvenile judgments total $390,000. Here to, the Clerk’s Office sends out letters indicating that money is owed to the county but that is the extent that her staff can go. She also indicated that many times tracking down the individuals who owe money to the county involves resources that the Clerk’s Office just doesn’t have.
The commissioners voted to move forward with a contractual agreement that will end at the end of County Clerk Julie Fox’s term in office. The agreement does allow for an out by either party with a 30 written notice.
Eagle Accounts will begin the collection process at no cost to the county. They will add on an additional 28% to the outstanding debt to cover their expenses.
