Roselle finance staff propose November ticket-amnesty to clear longstanding municipal fines

Village of Roselle staff and the finance committee recommended a municipal ticket amnesty program on Aug. 11 that would reduce eligible outstanding fines to their original amounts and offer a one-month window for payment, aiming to accelerate collections and clear old receivables. Assistant Village Director George Pappas told trustees the village has two existing collection avenues — a local debt recovery program that can use state tax returns and a collection agency — which generated about $40,800 in 2023 and about $29,000 in 2024. Looking back seven years to Dec. 31, 2024, staff reported 2,345 outstanding tickets with receivables of about $578,000. As of Aug. 1, 2025 the seven‑year ticket count had fallen slightly to 2,319 and receivables remained near $578,000. Pappas described two amnesty scenarios considered by the finance committee: a tiered approach where older tickets would get steeper reductions and a simple rollback to the original fine amounts. The finance committee recommended the second approach — restoring tickets to their original amounts — because it works with existing ticket software and streamlines payment and post‑amnesty restoration if defendants do not pay. Pappas said the estimated recoverable gross amount if every eligible defendant paid would be roughly $150,000; after a 25% collection-agency fee ($37,000) and estimated postage/printing costs ($2,500), the village could net roughly $109,000 in a 100% collection outcome. He recommended an amnesty period from Oct. 31 to Dec. 1 (effectively the month of November) so unpaid tickets can be returned to their current, higher amounts before year-end tax‑return collection runs. “Staff is recommending that the amnesty period run from Friday, October 31, to the end of the day, Monday, December 1,” Pappas said. Finance-committee members and trustees expressed support; Trustee Lanisa said the rollback “makes sense” and will be easier for staff. The board indicated consensus to proceed; no formal ordinance or vote was recorded that night. If the board proceeds at a future meeting, staff said scheduled next steps include mailing letters on Oct. 20 to defendants, public communications via village channels, and assistance from the collection agency to contact defendants via phone.