NIU’s parking division is becoming more efficient by entering parking violator information into computers in the field rather than recording it by hand.

The parking division invested in three hand-held computer terminals, said Assistant Parking Manager La Ronda Thuestad.

The three terminals, estimated at $9,000, access the main parking division computer and download parking violator information into the processing network, Thuestad said.

“We hope to have less clerical errors and more speed in billing,” Thuestad said. “It will definitely make our service more efficient.”

Thuestad said the hand-held ticketers will speed the process of issuing traffic citations because data they collect during the day won’t have to be entered by hand into computers later.

“When the officer issues a ticket, the complete information will be placed into the portable unit,” Thuestad said. “At the end of an officer’s shift, the information in the hand-held computer will be downloaded into the main computer.”

Thuestad said she doesn’t expect permit fees or ticket fees to increase within the next year but said “a year is a long way off.”

The parking division paid for the portable computers through the funds collected from parking citations and permits, Thuestad said.

Blacktopping, snow removal, lighting and new parking lot construction are also funded through ticketing and permits, she said.

Thuestad said there are no plans for further construction of parking areas, but some lots might be re-striped.

She said there also will be a consulting board put together to see if a campus high-rise parking facility is needed.

“We like to think of ourselves as a service to the university,” Thuestad said.