MOBILE, Alabama – Thousands of dollars in uncollected business license revenue goes unchecked every year by city government.

That's why city officials are requesting the City Council approve its second contract with Revenue Discovery Systems (RDS), the Birmingham-based subsidiary of Norfolk, Va.-based PRA Government Services LLC.

The RDS contract, if approved, would put the private company in charge of analyzing its databases to ensure that all commercial and industrial businesses in Mobile are licensed and paying the annual fee. The council's vote is on Tuesday.

"They may have a lot of databases we may not have access too," Gwen Hall, the city's revenue director, said today.

The contract doesn't cost taxpayers any upfront money. Hall said RDS will be paid 30 percent of "whatever they collect," while 70 percent of the unpaid business licenses are remitted back to the city.

Hall said the last time RDS worked in Mobile, which was 2008-2011, the city recouped more than $250,000 in unpaid business license.

The city's business license, which generates more than $30 million a year, is second only to the sales tax when it comes to the biggest revenue generator that pays for public services such as police officer salaries, fire trucks, and street maintenance.

RDS, which provides similar services to 272 cities and counties in Alabama, also provides property and sales tax collection services, among other things.

Stephen Morris, vice-president of client services with RDS, said the company's goal is to "help level the playing field" when it comes to businesses paying the license fee.

"A lot of cities and counties don't have the manpower to track down everything," Morris said. "We have a lot of techniques we do to help find, locate and discover the businesses."

In addition, the company's records are forwarded to the city to help officials track businesses each year in an effort to ensure the license is paid.

Business licenses are due each January, and the cost is based on annual gross revenues. The minimum business license owed by a company to Mobile is $120.