Posts Tagged ‘collections agency’

Pay To Stay” Ohio Prison Program A Miserable Failure

August 20th, 2010

In the counties of Butler and Hamilton, Ohio, the sheriff’s departments attempted to collect money from inmates to pay for the cost of their stay at jail. An all around failure, the program stopped a few weeks ago after it cost taxpayers $69,000 to settle a federal lawsuit. The state auditor halted the program because it wasn’t generating any income.

Despite this fact, these counties are currently talking about re-starting the program through collecting booking fees. Financial analysts remain skeptical. Even in the best case scenarios, the policy may not be lucrative at all as many prisoners that end up in jail have no money.

Lawsuits were the issue that stopped the program in the first place. An Ohio prison nearby originally began charging booking fees at a hundred dollars and an additional $67.77 daily charge for every day held. But federal lawsuits against Hamilton and Butler counties started the end to “pay to stay” programs. The major issue at hand was determining who had to pay the fee.

Ohio law permits a county to charge prisoners for room and board, medical and dental treatment, property damage and a onetime booking fee. Inmates should be billed at the end of their stay, but the key provision of the law is that only convicted inmates could be charged. The District Judge stated that it was unconstitutional to take these fines from inmates who weren’t convicted yet.

Hamilton County was sued in 2000 and was told to refund about one million dollars in prison fees and to pay $150,000 for an educational program for prisoners. In 2001, Butler County was sued as well. By 2003, the grand total of money that was returned to settle litigation was $63,846 to 2,431 inmates. In addition, the county was ordered to pay a $5,000 donation to the Legal aid Society after officials did not add the agreed upon ten percent interest on refund checks.

Although the plan to charge pay to stay fees to prisoners has failed, and has cost taxpayers more money than the program is worth, the Sheriff’s department still looks to extract more money from the jail. Charging booking fees, and taking in out of state prisoners are current considerations.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution, a medical debt collection agency. Having trouble collecting money from small claims? collection agencies can help.


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Making Prisoners Pay For Jail Isn’t Working

April 17th, 2010

In the counties of Butler and Hamilton, Ohio, the sheriff’s departments attempted to collect money from inmates to pay for the cost of their stay at jail. An all around failure, the program stopped a few weeks ago after it cost taxpayers $69,000 to settle a federal lawsuit. The state auditor halted the program because it wasn’t generating any income.

Despite this fact, these counties are currently talking about re-starting the program through collecting booking fees. Financial analysts remain skeptical. Even in the best case scenarios, the policy may not be lucrative at all as many prisoners that end up in jail have no money.

The issue that originally put an end to the program was lawsuits. An Ohio jail that was in the area started charging booking fees at a hundred dollars and an additional $67.77 daily charge for every day held. But federal lawsuits against Butler and Hamilton counties began the end to “pay to stay” programs. The main issue at hand was figuring out who had to pay the fee.

Ohio law allows a county to charge inmates for room and board, medical and dental treatment, property damage and a onetime booking fee. Prisoners must be billed at the end of their stay, but the key provision of the law is that convicted inmates only could be charged. The District Judge said that it was unconstitutional to take these fines from inmates who were not yet convicted.

Hamilton County was sued in 2000 and was told to refund about one million dollars in prison fees and to pay $150,000 for an educational program for prisoners. In 2001, Butler County was sued as well. By 2003, the grand total of money that was returned to settle litigation was $63,846 to 2,431 inmates. In addition, the county was ordered to pay a $5,000 donation to the Legal aid Society after officials did not add the agreed upon ten percent interest on refund checks.

Even though the plan to charge pay to stay fees to prisoners has failed, and has cost taxpayers more money than the program is worth, the Sheriff’s department still is considering measures to make more money from the jail. Charging booking fees, and taking in out of state prisoners are ideas that they are currently thinking about.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also she composes stories on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service


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Changes In Tax Laws That You Should Know About

April 12th, 2010

In today’s bad economy the changes seem huge. Just last year a few tax laws were etched out to save us in dire situations. These are a few new tax laws that you should know about.

The first deals with new tax deductions and new car sales. If you bought a brand new vehicle, including a car, motorcycle, light truck or motor home, on or after February 16th 2009 and by December 31st 2009, any sales tax paid might be seen as a deduction.

In 2009 and 2010 the American Opportunity Credit is replaced by the Hope Education credit. This new credit is worth $2,500 for each student, this is based on the first $4,000 of qualifying educational expenses.

Homeowners that make improvements to their existing homes that are energy efficient can claim a credit of 30 percent of the cost of all of the upgrades, up to a maximum credit of $1,500. This covers things such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy efficient air conditioning and heating systems.

Last year was tough for a lot of workers, and layoffs hit record levels. But unemployment compensation is considered taxable income. However, now, the first $2,400 in benefits is excluded from income.

Because of the Bicycle Commuter Act, cyclists will receive reimbursement of workplace transportation costs into a tax favored account and bikers can use the money to put towards purchase of a bike, bike lock, helmet, bike parking fees and bike maintenance in general.

Also, if you pay your income tax by credit or debit card, you can deduct the convenience fee that will be charged for the transaction. The card fee, as well as any other IRS approved miscellaneous deductions must exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income before they will count. Despite the fact that this measure limits the value of this break for many, filers with substantial expenses to claim should be sure to add the card fee.

Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection company. She also writes articles on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service


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