Technology Upgrades at Bronxville Village Court Save Money and Time

No one likes dealing with court fees and legal hearings. But since they are a fact of life, it would be nice if they were easier. The Bronxville Village Court has recently made several technology upgrades that make court fees easier to handle and court hearings more efficient.

Court fees for parking, vehicle and traffic violations can now be paid by credit card. The Court is using a new conferencing system that provides translation services for non-English speakers.

"We're about justice, of course,"said Mary Ann Palermo, Bronxville Village Court Clerk. "These new upgrades help us get resolutions more economically and efficiently."

Since March, the Court has been able to accept credit card payments for parking, vehicle and traffic violations. Payments can made in the office or by downloading an authorization form at the Village Court website.

Palermo notices people are using the credit card option to take care of larger violation fees as well as to pay for parking tickets.

"About 50% of Village traffic violations are being paid by credit card," she said.

The system can also accept bail payments. "Which can come in handy, especially in the middle of the night," said Palermo.

The Court cannot accept credit cards to pay for permits and other fees that are collected by the Village. Court and Village funds must be kept separate. Funds to pay for the credit card processing machine came from the Office of Justice Court Support which provides funds across the state for local municipality courts to use the voluntary system.

Another upgrade is not only streamlining the Village Court's case schedule, it is also saving taxpayers money. A new polycom conference system is used during court hearings for people who don't speak English.

Before the new system was in place, if party in a court proceeding could not speak English, the case would have to be adjourned, postponed until a translator could be contracted and scheduled to attend a hearing at a future date.

With the new system, the Court uses a telephone conferencing system to call Language Line Systems in California. According to their website, the company can provide translators within seconds for more than 170 languages 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The system is already working well. Since the translation service is always available, hearings can continue without delay. Costs for the statewide contract with Language Line are significantly less than the rates Bronxville Village Court was paying to contract translators for each case.

From November 2009 to January 2010, translator fees cost the Court $955. Over the last three months, the Court has spent only $16 to handle 8 cases.

"We pay 99 cents a minute rather than $250 a case," said Palermo.

Money for the conferencing equipment was provide by a grant from JCAP (Justice Court Assistance Program) which provides grants of up to $30,000 for office and security equipment, furniture and courtroom renovations. New security measures have also been put in the court room for the benefit of staff and public safety. A panic button security alarm has been installed.

Because of the financial crisis in Albany, the JCAP grant program is currently suspended. The grant cycle is closed and new applications were not accepted for the 2009-2010 fiscal year and future plans have not been announced.