Segmented Pricing for Fines & Fees

As fines and fees have become more important in recent years and are ripe for savvier pricing strategies. Debt from unpaid fines and fees can be harmful to low-income individuals. Moreover, the ethics of public service commits public officials to treat people fairly and produce good results for the community. Therefore, in this paper, we will only consider the potential effects on low-income individuals.

We will explore the following segmented pricing arguments to illustrate the practical applications:

One-size-fits-all pricing will predictably generate unpaid accounts because the price will exceed many people’s willingness/ability to pay.

More aggressive collection of unpaid accounts has disadvantages. It can further imperil the financial health of vulnerable citizens. It also requires the government to incur collection costs. In extreme cases, these costs might even exceed the revenues collected.

Who Will Benefit: CFO/Finance Director, Controller, Budget Manager & Analyst, Treasurer, Department Director

• Learn what segmented pricing is and what it can offer to local government
• Learn how segmented pricing, along with other strategies can both improve collections and revenues, while mitigating the harmful effects of fines and fees on lower income individuals
• Learn how segmented pricing could be implemented under a pilot project with GFOA and the University of Chicago