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Collections firm reports $8.2 million turnover and ~75% liquidation rate in Henderson County
Summary
Doug Burnside of Purdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott LLP told Henderson County commissioners the firm has turned over more than $8.2 million for collections since it began work in the county, reporting an overall liquidation rate of about 74.7% and increased outreach via text messaging.
Doug Burnside, managing partner for the Garland and North Texas offices of Purdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott LLP, presented the county’s annual delinquent-court-fines collection report and highlighted the firm’s results in Henderson County.
"We've had a little over $8,200,000 turned towards the collections," Burnside said, adding that roughly $4,000,000 has been paid in that period and about $2,200,000 has been "resolved" for reasons such as time served, death or incarceration. He reported an overall liquidation/collection percentage of 74.7% for the county since the firm began work in the jurisdiction.
Burnside described the firm’s outreach tactics, saying they have made about 64,000 phone calls and sent roughly 26,000 text messages since launching the texting program for Henderson County in April. He told commissioners the texting initiative has been "a very, very successful collection technique," while noting staff had to pace messages to avoid overwhelming call centers.
The presentation broke the results down by justice court precincts. For example, Burnside said JP1 had about $2,000,000 turned over with a liquidation figure he summarized as $1,450,000 (roughly a 72% liquidation rate). JP2 and the other precincts showed similar mixed results of collections (payments in full) and resolutions (cases removed from collection for nonpayment-related reasons).
Commissioners pressed the firm on terminology after the presentation. One commissioner asked whether "amount resolved" meant money collected; Burnside replied that resolutions are not necessarily collections and can reflect cases withdrawn from the books because the defendant served time, was found indigent, died or became incarcerated. County staff and the firm agreed the distinction affects how total recovery percentages are presented.
No formal action was required; the presentation was accepted for filing and commissioners thanked the firm for its work.
