The Santa Barbara County civil grand jury has criticized the Sheriff’s Department and the private firm it uses to process parking citations in a report released Wednesday.
Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said the department is reviewing the report.
The department and the company first entered into a contract in 1996. It was last renewed in 2012 and expired in 2013, though the department has continued to use the same vendor.
The vendor went unnamed in the grand jury report, and the report said that it was unable to be contacted by grand jury members.
Neither the jury nor Hoover responded to a request for the name of the vendor, but a company called EZPayCorp lists the Sheriff’s Department as one of its clients on its website.
According to the grand jury report, department officials have attempted to renew the contract with the vendor in the past, but vendor has not responded to requests for insurance documentation.
More than $140,000 in parking citations were collected in fiscal year 2013-14, with the vendor retaining nearly $25,000. In 2014-15, $108,000 was collected and the vendor retained more than $21,000.
The jury found several problems with the way that the department and the vendor process citations. Members of the grand jury could not be reached for comment on the report.
Parking violators have the option of paying their fine online or by mailing a check.
February 19, 2016
Lompoc Record
By Kyle Harding
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