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Akron municipal court says Tyler migration revealed ~7,000 unpaid cases and $1.7M in owed fines
Summary
Clerk Sandra Kurt told council that switching to Tyler Enterprise Justice uncovered about 7,000 dormant cases dating back roughly 15 years; the court has referred roughly $1.7 million to collections and began newly collecting a 2% poundage on garnishments that produces about $10,000 per month.
Sandra Kurt, the clerk of Akron Municipal Court, told the finance committee that the court completed its migration to Tyler Enterprise Justice on Sept. 1, 2025, and the data-transfer work uncovered thousands of previously uncollected cases.
"We discovered 7,000 unpaid cases that had not been sent to collections by the prior administrations," Kurt said. The clerk told council those files go back approximately 15 years and have been referred to collections; the total amount referred is about $1.7 million, though she cautioned the court does not expect to recover all of that sum.
Kurt credited staff for the transition work, which required entering case information into both the old AMSYS system and a Tyler test environment so staff could identify gaps before full cutover. She said the Tyler platform also enables online payments and better document viewing for residents and attorneys.
Kurt said the court also began collecting the authorized 2% "poundage" on garnishments under the Ohio Revised Code, a revenue stream the court had not previously pursued. "We are averaging approximately $10,000 per month in this poundage," she said, adding those proceeds reduce the draw on the city operating fund.
Councilmembers asked how the court referred the old cases; Kurt said the court used Capital Recovery and that the firm adds collection fees to the debtor, so the court receives the full amount owed. She said roughly 7,000 dormant cases date back up to about 15 years.
The presentation included budget references: the clerk pointed council to budget pages with salary and goals figures and noted that Tyler-related savings and new online payment revenue will be reflected in next year's reports.
