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Borough considers contract with collections firm for delinquent trash and sewer accounts
Summary
Council reviewed a proposed two‑year contract with a collections firm to pursue delinquent trash (and possibly sewer) accounts through Dec. 31, 2027; staff recommended placing the contract and a resolution enabling recovery of attorney fees on a future agenda for council review.
Borough staff and the solicitor discussed a proposed two‑year contract with an outside collections firm to pursue delinquent trash accounts. The firm has provided a contract with an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2027, and an attached fee schedule; staff recommended placing the contract on a future council agenda for formal consideration.
The solicitor noted that for the firm to collect certain costs (attorney fees and expenses), the council would likely need to adopt a specific resolution authorizing those recoveries. Staff also said other vendors had quoted collection approaches in which they retained a portion of collections (one firm would have charged a 25% contingency), and that the county tax‑claim bureau generally handles real‑estate tax enforcement (a separate process).
Council discussed trying a letter to delinquent accounts first and reviewing responses before formally engaging a collection firm; staff recommended putting the contract and a sample resolution on the next council agenda so members could review the fee schedule and the solicitor could confirm statutory authority and contract language.
No contract was signed at the meeting; council asked staff to send the letter and to schedule discussion of the contract and resolution at the next meeting if collections did not improve.
