Speaker 3, a collections department staff member, told the board the county has stepped up active garnishments and monitoring over the last two years and is seeing measurable results. “56.6% of the money that we're collecting is because of her doing those garnishments and the active monitoring that she's doing on these cases,” the staff member said. The presentation noted that “72% of what we're taking in on restitution, which is $282,575, is because she's been hound dogging and getting garnishments and monitoring payments where people are owed their restitution.”

The staff member explained the limits on recovery: county jurisdiction to collect fines can lapse after 10 years while restitution obligations remain collectible for life. That creates a mix of older cases where fines are not collectible but restitution may be, complicating an overall estimate of how much remains uncollected. “We have cases that have fines, but they also have restitution owed on them, and we can still collect the restitution, but we can't collect on the fines,” the staff member said.

Commissioners asked about resources and whether the process would require additional staff or legal changes; the collections staff said the work has been done largely through a dedicated collections clerk and active monitoring, and that the office will request help if legislative or administrative changes are needed. The discussion also touched on an ongoing office relocation: most staff are temporarily at the boathouse while the public counter remains at the hall.

The update did not include a formal motion or vote; commissioners thanked the collections staff for the results and asked that any legislative priorities tied to collections or court responsibilities be shared as they develop.