Hazleton City Council will vote tonight on an agreement thatwould give motorists the ability to pay traffic and parking ticketsonline.
Council will decide tonight whether to enter an agreement withnCourt, a Georgia-based government services technology company thatprovides online services for payment of traffic and parking tickets.
The agreement costs the city nothing, but people who use theprogram to pay traffic and parking tickets will be charged a userfee that Bill Giller, nCourt vice president of sales and marketing,likened to a fee that people would pay to buy tickets through anonline broker.
Credit card payment will be accepted.
Giller said that while he wasn't aware of the specific details ofHazleton City's possible agreement with nCourt he believes the firmcould assess a fee in the "$2 range" for a parking ticket. Finesincluded in the city's roughly parking ordinance range from $10 to$75 depending on the violation.
The firm will offer its services to the city at no cost, Gillernoted. It will provide the city with a website, an 800 call centerand gives people the ability to pay by phone or via the Internet,Giller noted.
"The interesting part is the city has not had to spend any moneyon merchant fees, hardware or software," he said. "We gave them themarketing materials."
Acting City Administrator Mary Ellen Lieb said Tuesday that shetoo wasn't aware of the exact fee that nCourt would assess on peoplewho use the website, saying the firm lists on the site that userfees are "included in the payment transaction."
Lieb said that police Chief Robert Ferdinand worked with the cityticket clerk to come up with a way to streamline the process forpaying tickets - as well as the means for the department to collectfines.
The department currently has a drop box at city hall wheremotorists can pay tickets, she noted.
"A lot of times people put cash in the (ticket) envelopes andthey like to get a receipt that it was paid," she said. "(With thewebpage) they don't have to deal with cash and it makes everythingmuch easier."
Council will vote on a resolution that would authorize the policedepartment to enter an agreement with nCourt for providing theonline services.
Lieb said that city officials have completed a reference check onthe company and found that most of its customers - which aredistrict courts - have been pleased with the firm.
According to Giller, nCourt provides services at close to 1,000locations in 23 states.
The website is at www.hazletonparkingtix.com. If councilapproves, Hazleton city's official website will also contain a linkto the online payment service, Lieb noted.
Bath salts ban
Council will act on the first reading of an ordinance that wouldban the sale or possession of chemicals that are commonly marketedas bath salts.
The proposed ordinance makes it unlawful for people orcorporations to knowingly sell, lend, rent, lease, give exchange orotherwise distribute any products that have a certain chemicalcomposition and are marketed as incense, potpourri, plantfertilizer, insect repellent and bath salts.
Items banned under the ordinance have a chemical compositionconsisting of "JWH-018, JWH-200, JWH-073, CP-47, 497,cannabicyclohexanol, 3.4 methylenedioxyprovalerdone (MDPV),methylone, mephedrone, 4-methoxymethcathinone, 4-flouromethcathinone and 3-fluoromethcathinone," the ordinance reads.
Those who violate the ordinance can face fines of up to $500 andup to 30 days in prison.
Ed Pane, president of Serento Gardens, said recently thepsychoactive ingredient, mephedrone, has thousands of potentialcombinations, making bath soaps difficult to regulate.
Pane has recently asked the community to boycott stores that sellthe chemicals, which are supposed to give users a cocaine- oramphetamine-like high.
Pane says the chemicals have caused a steep rise in medicalproblems and emergency visits across the country.
Director post
Council will also vote on a resolution naming Patrick Koch,Lattimer, director of public services.
Koch will replace acting director Renee Craig, who Lieb saiddecided on her own to return to an assistant position she originallyheld under former Director Robert Fiume.
Craig assisted in interviewing candidates for the director's job,Lieb noted.
At this point, administrators haven't established Koch's salary,Lieb said. She referred pay-related questions to Mayor JosephYannuzzi, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Council will meet 5:30 p.m. today at City Hall.
sgalski@standardspeaker.com
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