Nassau comptroller: Unpaid tickets 'urgent issue'

Nassau's Traffic and Parking Violations Agency needs a new system to collect tens of millions in outstanding fines, according to Comptroller George Maragos.

"The growing backlog of unpaid tickets is an urgent issue that requires more aggressive collection efforts," Maragos said in a news release this week about his audit of the system.

He praised improved agency actions after John Marks took it over in January 2010 but noted a huge loss of revenue, especially from the "rising number of unpaid red light camera fines."

The report showed that at the end of 2010, the agency had $44.09 million in expected uncollected traffic violation fines dating back 10 years and another $26.8 million in parking violation fines racked up since 2004. This was all money county officials hoped would help with the county's budget crisis.

Unpaid red light camera violations -- a system in place since 2009 -- were at $10 million at the end of 2011, Maragos said.

"Most concerning," Maragos said in Tuesday's news release, is that unpaid red light camera tickets grew from 7,884 at the end of 2009 to 107,841 by the end of last year.

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said, "Our residents deserve a fair and efficient system and that is what we intend to continue implementing."

Mangano had made a strong effort last year to collect parking penalties by offering amnesty and no late payment fees to violators with three or more outstanding tickets if they were paid before Sept. 15. It failed, collecting only $186,481 of the anticipated $21.7 million.

Maragos' audit suggests that the county speed up the anticipated replacement of its computer system; demand the red light camera vendor improve reporting of receivables, dismissals and collections; implement management review of cash receipt reconciliation errors; implement greater security; and separation of duties among employees.