Funny Business

Indeed, when contacted by the Press, Davis seemed unwilling -- or unable -- to discuss the subcontract with Municipal Collections. "I wouldn't want to get into anything that, shall I say, nit-picky," says Davis, who's the uncle of Councilman Judson Robinson III and includes among his list of clients the mortgage company owned by Robinson's family. "I don't want to specify ... uh ... uh ... you know, work varies, and I wouldn't want to get into commenting on that. I'm sure we're doing our share of the work."

Despite all the questions, municipal courts administrator Miller says Municipal Collections has been productive. "The fact remains the choice has been a very good one," Miller says. It has been for Municipal Collections, anyway. In the 18 months since it won its contract, the company has been paid more than $2 million.

Meanwhile, the city's return has been significantly less than it had hoped. In a March 18, 1993, memo to City Council, Miller said Municipal Collections was projecting a 25-percent increase in net revenue to the city, an increase that would have calculated out to nearly $6.5 million a year. But when the figures came in for fiscal year 1994, which ended June 30, it was found net revenue to the city increased by just 4 percent, or nearly $4 million less than projected.

Of course, you could try to call Municipal Collections to find out what happened. But if you did, you'd be out of luck. The company's phone number isn't listed in the directory.