An effort to collect owed money on Bucks County’s “forgotten” cases has benefited taxpayers and victims of crimes since 2020.
Bucks County Clerk of Courts Eileen Hartnett Albillar said on Wednesday that the Delinquency Recovery Program (DRiP) has recovered $2 million since 2020.
The program “provides a way for people who owe court costs, fines, fees, and victim restitution on criminal cases to make payment in a dignified manner,” she said.
The Clerk of Courts’ Office has an outstanding balance of nearly $250 million owed to taxpayers and victims of crimes, but most of that money won’t be recovered for a number of reasons, Hartnett Albillar said.
However, the program, which began under previous Clerk of Courts Brian Munroe, has worked to go through old balances and collect them.
Of the money recouped, 55 percent went to county government, 21 percent went to crime victims, and 24 percent went to the state.
“This is a significant return on the DRiP program,” Hartnett Albillar said.
The office is seeking payment on debts dating back 35 years and has offered a number of manageable payment plans, the clerk of courts said.
It has been explained in the past that many defendants are unable to pay the courts and victims following convictions due to precarious financial positions. These debts are sent to collection agencies and eventually fall to the wayside if not repaid.
The DRiP initiative allows the Clerk of Courts’ Office to contact those who owe money and resolve the debts.
Michael Paston, the first deputy for the row office, brought the DRiP program from his previous employer, Montgomery County, to Bucks County in 2020. The program has roots in Westmoreland County.
Hartnett Albillar said the program has had positive feedback and costs the county $55,983 in salary and benefits each year.
Feedback has been good from those who owe money and those who are owed it, according to Hartnett Albillar.
One defendant said the program allowed them to “address my old court obligations with dignity.”
A victim of a burglary from 34 years ago said they got a check and “thought they made a mistake” before realizing it was restitution from the burglary.
The program has received support from the county courts, the county commissioners, and the Bucks County Adult Probation and Parole Department.
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