Town officials started the online service late last week as part of a program to streamline services with "e-government," said Greg DeLoach, assistant town manager. With the new system, Beaufort County sheriff's deputies writing traffic tickets on Hilton Head will also start giving cited motorists a little card with instructions on how to pay the fine on line, if they desire, town Operations Manager Tom Fultz said Monday.
Web administrator Rene Phillips, who worked with town software vendor PCSS to set up the system, planned to deliver the cards Monday to the sheriff's substation on Hilton Head, Fultz said.
"This is all part of our efforts to reduce traffic here at Town Hall and allow citizens to use the Web to avoid getting in their car and driving here," Fultz said Monday.
"This is just a means of making us a little bit more effective and more convenient for the customer."
The town's Web system also can be used to pay traffic tickets written by private security guards in the island's gated developments, because their tickets also go to Municipal Court, Fultz said.
Motorists ticketed by state troopers get cited to Magistrate's Court, which is not part of town government or the new online payment system.
The court handles roughly 5,000 to 6,000 traffic tickets annually, Fultz said.
"You're not paying extra for this (online) service. If your fine was $50, it's $50 at the window or $50 over the Web," he added.
The startup's initial focus is on the Sheriff's Traffic Team, which is part of the town's contract for law enforcement on Hilton Head.
Fultz said town officials would contact private security heads about the new system, and that information also would be given to security guards as they come to the court.
Of course, ticketed motorists retain the option of contesting their ticket at a court hearing.
"It depends on whether you think you're guilty or if you have an issue or a point you'd like to make to the judge," Fultz said.
Also, as before, they may go to the court office on the far end of the Town Hall to pay ticket fines in person by cash, check, money order or a MasterCard or Visa credit card. Or they may mail their payments using a cashier's check or money order.
All ticketing is done manually, and it usually takes two or three days for tickets to get from the Sheriff's Office to the court. So, Fultz said, it will take three or four days for a new ticket to show up the Web site.
The court's active case files are all recorded on a computer database, so the new system can be used for paying old, unpaid tickets, too.
Logging on to the tickets-payment site requires entering a driver's license number or a Social Security number.
The system uses VeriSign for security purposes. With it, "your credit card number never resides in town systems. It's all encrypted," Fultz said. "It will e-mail you a receipt."
Fultz said the town staff attempts to add a new service for online town business transactions each year.
In 2003, the town started a system allowing businesses with active town business license to pay annual license renewal fees online. This year, about 400, or roughly 10 percent of licensed businesses, used the option for fees that were due by May 31, Fultz said.
About two years ago, the town began online transactions for getting building permits. That system is available to contractors who set up Internet accounts with the town's building and fire codes department.
Next up is starting an online system for buying two-year town beach parking passes, which are available for town residents and property owners. Fultz said that service probably would start in about a year.
Traffic tickets link
Traffic tickets logged with Hilton Head Island Municipal Court may be paid on line, using a credit card and the town's Web site. Go to www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov and click "Pay your Municipal Court fines on line."
Autor: Frank Morris
Quelle: Carolina Morning News, 27.07.2004
