Colmar Manor council approves collections contract for camera fines and a $1,000 animal-welfare donation

The Colmar Manor Town Council approved two new actions during its meeting: a collections-services contract for unpaid traffic-camera fines and a $1,000 donation to Cat’s Life Rescue backed by a transfer from unreserved town funds.

Town Administrator Holcomb presented the contract with Municipal Collections of America (MCOA), describing the company as recommended by the town’s speed-camera vendor. Holcomb said the contract allows the vendor to pursue unpaid fines and noted the contract’s fee mechanics: “there would be a minimum of 35% cost of the collection of the debt, which is added to the outstanding balance owed to the municipality,” and “there's a 25.93% collection fee that's retained, from the full balance that's recovered,” he said. Holcomb said the town would not pay MCOA unless money is collected.

Councilors moved and approved the contract by voice vote; the motion applied to existing camera fines and will extend to stop-sign camera fines once those systems are operational.

In a separate motion, a council member proposed donating $1,000 to Cat’s Life Rescue. Councilors discussed the funding source with a finance-related exchange about an existing animal-welfare line item (which had $500) and agreed to allocate the full $1,000 from unreserved funds into the animal-welfare account. The transfer and donation passed by voice vote; the meeting record shows the council approved the motion and then proceeded to adjourn into a closed session for a personnel matter.

The transcript does not record a roll-call vote for either item; outcomes were recorded by voice vote as “ayes.”