By Ray King
As the Pine Bluff City Council considers the idea of hiring a private agency to collect past due court fines and fees, one group has come out against the idea.
Representatives of ACO (Arkansas Community Organizations) send a letter to Mayor Shirley Washington and members of the council which said, among other things that “it is wrong to raise revenue off the backs of people who are struggling financially.”
Neil Sealy, a representative of the group appeared on the Oldies 101.3 morning show with Greg Horne and Will Jenkins Friday and explained their opposition to the idea.
Jenkins suggested putting people on the clean team or adopting a ditch as a way to satisfy their obligations, then asked Sealy why people didn’t take care of their obligations when they received the ticket.
Sealy was also asked if it would be fair to write off tickets when other people take care of those tickets?
In the letter, ACO said the collection of past due fines and fees would have “a disproportionate economic impact on black households in our city” and Sealy was asked if this “is a race deal?
