Erie County Sheriff's Office: Civil Enforcement Division tips $1 million in revenue

Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard has announced the Civil Enforcement Division reached a four-year high in revenue, topping $1 million for the county's 2013 General Fund account.

As the sheriff is the state-mandated enforcement officer for all courts in New York State; the C.E.D. performs service and enforcement functions for its civil courts, including the service of summonses and subpoenas, collection of money judgments, and enforcement of court orders, including warrants of eviction. Service/enforcement and mileage fees, plus a "poundage" fee of 5 percent on all money collected are forwarded monthly to the county comptroller.

2013's total was $1,037,704.70, representing an 11 percent increase over 2012's revenues. Howard also reports an 11 percent increase in new cases (7,409) over last fiscal year and credited the hard work of his staff, new initiatives designed to better serve the citizens of Erie County and improving economic conditions in Western New York. Those funds are placed in the General Fund and returned to the taxpayer in a number of ways.