Collections of delinquent traffic fines in Hawai'i have tripled since November, when the state Judiciary converted to an electronic system, officials said yesterday.

The collection rate is up to 14 percent, and the state is "on track to reach 20 percent in the next six months," said Patrick J. Swanick, an official with the Austin, Texas, collection firm that has the Hawai'i contract.

The benchmark for collection agencies is 15 percent to 18 percent and "we think we can beat the benchmark," said Swanick, government services chief executive officer for Municipal Services Bureau of Austin, Texas.

The Judiciary said it collects an average of $23 million per year in traffic-related fines and fees.

Unpaid fines are referred to Municipal Services Bureau, a collection agency that takes a 17.5 percent cut.

"We expect that the percentage of monies collected on delinquent accounts will significantly increase because once the collection agency receives this information, it will pursue persons who have chosen not to pay their fines," Thomas Keller, administrative director of Hawai'i courts, said in a written statement.

Last November the Judiciary spent about $50,000 to automatically send information on delinquent accounts to the collection agency through a secure electronic system.

According to Swanick, the old manual system provided MSB cases "in bunches" but the company now receives cases daily. One hundred of MSB's 300 employees deal with cases from Hawai'i, which ranks in the top 10 of the company's clients, Swanick said.

The collection process starts with a letter, warning a person that an arrest warrant could be issued if a delinquent fine is not paid. That is followed by telephone reminders. Swanick says 16 to 20 calls is not unusual.

Fifteen percent of the Hawai'i cases referred to MSB involve tourists, Swanick said.

MSB has recovered $3.9 million for the state since 2005, he said.

"That's nearly $4 million in recovery that would not have occurred in a state system set up for administrative justice, not collection," Swanick said.

During the first 22 days of May, he said, the agency collected $395,153 for Hawai'i out of $1.5 million in delinquent accounts submitted.

Of the amount collected, $271,622 was from O'ahu, $69,599 was from Maui County, $43,529 was from Hawai'i County and $10,403 was from Kaua'i.