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Centralized Collections
Bruce Robert, Chief of Collections
San Bernardino County
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Centralized
Collections vs.
Stand Alone Units
Discussion Topics
• Considerations for Centralization
• Comparison of Centralized vs. Stand Alone
• Establishing Centralized Collections
• Model for Centralized Collections
• Questions and Answers
Note: Topics are presented from a county perspective, although
concepts can relate to city, state or federal level.
Considerations for
Centralization
• Participating Agencies
• Political Issues
• Funding
• Staffing
• Technology
• Level of Expertise
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Participating Agencies
Typical Agencies Include:
• Courts
– Criminal Cases
– Traffic Infractions
– Juvenile Cases
• County Medical Center
• Unsecured Property Taxes
• Variety of smaller departments
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Political Issues
• CAO Support
• If you centralize, where will you go?
– Treasurer-Tax Collector
– Auditor Controller
– Stand-alone Department
• Do separate collection units exist?
• Resistance to centralization
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Funding
• Current Funding
• Continuation of current funding
• Sources of Funding
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Local Cost
General Administrative Budget
Commission
Collection Fee
Fee Based
Cost Offset (PC 1463.007)
Grants
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Staffing
• Current available staffing
• Will new agencies participate?
• Impact on current staffing
• Ability to add additional staff
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Technology
• What technology is available?
• What are the future requirements?
• Will you have sufficient IT budget?
• Will you have sufficient support staff?
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Level of Expertise
• Management’s level of expertise
• Subject matter experts
• Required training
• Current policies and procedures
Comparison of
Centralized Collections vs.
Stand Alone Units
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Comparison
Centralized Collections
• Centralized Management
• Standards – more
consistency
• Shared resources – more
cost effective
• Harder to manage
knowledge transfer – more
topics among more people
• Centralized technology –
easier to manage – more
cost effective
Stand Alone Units
• Segregated Management
• Lack of standards – less
consistency
• Segregated resources –
less cost effective
• Easier to manage
knowledge – fewer topics
among fewer people
• Segregated technology –
more complicated – less
cost effective
Establishing
Centralized Collections
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Establishing
Centralized Collections
• Gain support for concept
• Determine where to place organization
• Establish scope – mandatory/elective participation
by departments
• Develop client list
• Determine resources
• Establish funding sources
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Establishing
Centralized Collections
• Determine rates for commission/fees
• Determine start up costs
• Establish budget
• Determine staffing level
• Sufficient subject matter experts
• Decision: Consolidated work force vs. separate
business units
Model for
Centralized Collections
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Model for
Centralized Collections
San Bernardino County
• Court Collections
• Medical Center
• Unsecured Property Taxes
• Various Smaller Agencies
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Original Organization
Three Stand Alone Units:
• Collections Division (Medical)
• Probation Accounting (Court)
• Treasurer-Tax Collector (Unsecured)
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Centralization:
• Grand Jury Report recommendation
• CAO supported concept
• Creation of Central Collections
• Departments merged under Treasurer-Tax
Collector
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Model for
Centralized Collections
History:
• Collections Division and Probation
Accounting Merged
• Maintained Separate Business Units
• Added Unsecured Property Tax Division
• Added Traffic Infraction Unit
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Staff is divided by business units
• Medical Center
• Adult Misdemeanors/Felonies
• Juvenile Cases
• Traffic Infractions
• Unsecured Property Taxes
• Various Smaller Clients
• Legal
Org Chart COLLECT
for San Bernardino
County Collections
Treasurer/Tax
Collector
Asst Treasurer/Tax
Collector
Chief of Collections
Chief Supervising
Collections Officer
Collection Spvr (2)
Medical (19)
Collection Spvr (1)
Adult Court (9)
Juvenile (4)
Collection Spvr (1)
Collection Spvr (1)
Collection Spvr (1)
Traffic (10)
Unsecured (6)
Legal (7)
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Funding
• Operate with No Local Cost
• Blend of Funding Sources
• Courts: Cost Offset (PC 1463.007)
• Medical: Cost Plus Commission
• Unsecured: Collection Fee per Account
• Smaller Clients: Commission
• More Difficult Collections: Fee Based
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Each unit has their own goals:
• Monthly Collection Quota
• Daily # of accounts worked
• Daily # of phone calls
• Monthly # of legal referrals
• Monthly # of payment plans set
This varies from unit to unit.
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Statistics Tracked by Business Units
• Monthly Collections
• Cost of Collections
• Recovery Rates
• Total Outstanding Accounts Receivable
We have annual targets for each unit.
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Separate Business Units
• Greater level of expertise Less overall knowledge
• Less training required
• Fewer staff under privacy
regulations
• More difficult to manage
customer service (fewer staff
members to handle calls)
• Easier to track costs
• Easier to shift effort to a
particular client
Consolidated Work Force
• Greater level of overall
knowledge – less expertise
• More training required
• All staff subject to privacy
regulations
• Easier to manage customer
service (all staff can handle
all account types)
• More difficult to track costs
• Hard to shift a concentrated
effort on a particular client
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Model for
Centralized Collections
San Bernardino County
• Separate business units is preferred
– Easier to track costs
– Easier to develop knowledgeable staff
– Can ramp up efforts for a particular client
easily
– Able to set standards for each unit based on
level of effort to collect
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Practical Day-To-Day Issues
(Each is Business Unit Specific)
• Work Lists: Each collector has a specific workload
• Letters: Have over 500 letters
• Action Codes: Collectors use codes for account
follow up
• Legal Referrals: Dedicated legal collectors for
each business unit
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Model for
Centralized Collections
Practical Day-To-Day Issues (cont’d)
• Receivables Management: Procedures to deal
with aging receivables
• Statistics: Tracked by business unit
• Shared Resources: Most are shared with a few
business specific resources
Questions?
Thank You!
Contact Information:
Bruce Robert
Chief of Collections
San Bernardino County
(909) 387-5616
brobert@ttcpa.sbcounty.gov