In July, Sheriff Chipp Bailey and Tax Collector Neal Dixon announced that they had begun using License Plate Recognition software that employs cameras mounted on sheriff’s deputies’ cars looking for the license plates of owners who were delinquent paying their vehicle property taxes. Nine deputies rotate in and out of the specially equipped cars and when the equipment gets a hit on a delinquent plate, the deputy places a warning sticker on the vehicle with notice that the tax must be paid within two days.

As of mid-December, 659 delinquent plates had been detected and 71 percent of the owners have now paid their past-due taxes amounting to nearly $74,000.

The original delinquent database contained 75,000 plates and 10,000 new delinquents are added to the database each month. The License Plate Recognition software is being used by many municipalities around the country with collections far exceeding the cost of the equipment. The Sheriff’s Office initial investment in the cameras, laptops and printers was less than $40,000.

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Media Contact: Roger W. Kortekaas @ 704-579-0258 or Roger.Kortekaas@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov