District's delinquent-tax attorneys report roughly $2.8 million in accounts turned over for collection

Justin Barlow, of the law firm Purdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, presented the district's delinquent-tax report and described the firm's collection process, timelines and recent metrics.

Barlow told trustees that the amount of accounts turned over to his office was about $2,800,000. He described the firm's work to collect outstanding taxes—calls, emails, automated text messages and letters—and said most accounts fall into an "action pending" category where staff are attempting collection. A second-large portion is in litigation, where the firm has filed suit to collect taxes.

Barlow gave a breakdown by account size and tax year. He said larger accounts (the $10,000-and-up category) represent the largest dollar portion of the work. He also presented historical collection rates for prior tax years, saying the 2019 tax year initially had about $1.2 million turned over and his office collected 68% in the first year and has since brought that to about 90% as they continued work. For the most recent tax year in the report, he said collection was at about 36%, noting the firm ran the report early (February) and expects first-year collection to increase over the usual cycle.

Barlow said the tax office generally collects about 96–97% of taxes without outside counsel and that his firm focuses on the remaining roughly 3–4% of accounts. He noted categories such as deferrals (over-65 or disability), bad addresses, partial-payment plans, bankruptcy and uncollectible accounts as reasons some accounts remain unresolved.

The board did not take a vote on the report; Barlow concluded by inviting feedback from trustees on the firm's services.