Comment by www.wrongonred.com:

So, here's the deal with City of Arnold as I understand it. Because no one is paying the citations, because they know they are illegitimate and unenforceable under Missouri law, American Traffic Solutions, sent out some 8000 Notices of Violation. It turns out, 1200 of those were to folks who paid or had their citations dismissed. Why did ATS not know you ask? Therein lies the rub, the City of Arnold was pocketing the money, and not telling them, and apparently owes ATS $31.33 for every dismissed citation as well, for a grand total just north of $50k. City is releasing a press release today, but no telling what lipstick they will put on the pig.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/about-letters-wrongly-sought-unpaid-fines-from-arnold-red-light/article_125200a6-41f3-11e1-b132-0019bb30f31a.html

About 1,000 letters wrongly sought unpaid fines from Arnold red-light cameras 
 
BY LEAH THORSEN • This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > 636-937-6249 STLtoday.com | Posted: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 12:00 pm |

ARNOLD •  A computer error is being blamed for roughly 1,000 people getting letters from American Traffic Solutions on behalf of Arnold that incorrectly stated they owed fines for running red lights.

It was the city's first such attempt to collect unpaid fines stemming from being caught by red-light cameras. The city sent out 8,000 such letters on Friday, said City Attorney Bob Sweeney.

Arnold installed the first red-light camera in the state in 2005. The letters were an effort to collect unpaid fines that had assessed since then, Sweeney said.

Sweeney said the problem stemmed from a communication error between ATS, an Arizona-based company that operates red-light cameras for St. Louis and other municipalities, and the state's municipal court system. He said collection agencies were never notified.

Those who incorrectly received a letter had already satisfied their cases and another letter will be sent telling them to disregard the payment request.

Letter recipients can contact ATS at the phone number listed on the letter or Arnold's municipal court at 636-296-2100.

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Title
Comment	smaller | bigger
Name
Email
Write the displayed characters
Subscribe via email (registered users only)
	Add Comment Preview