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New London approves contractor to find unregistered or out-of-state vehicles; council debates privacy, cost and procurement
Summary
Council voted to contract with Municipal Tax Services LLC to search for untaxed vehicles; the assessor and staff described privacy safeguards, past program results and collection mechanics while some councilors questioned the contractor fee and whether an RFP should have been issued.
The New London City Council on May 19 approved a two-year contract with Municipal Tax Services LLC to identify potentially untaxed motor vehicles and pursue assessments, following testimony from the assessor’s office and debate about procurement, use of license-plate readers and contractor fees.
Assessor Donna Ralston and Assistant Christian Driscoll described how Municipal Tax Services is licensed in Connecticut and that access to motor vehicle information is governed by state agreements. Ralston said the assessor’s office and tax collector will remain involved: “Municipal Tax Services is a company that is fully licensed with the state of Connecticut as private investigators, which is something that we need on this program.”
Assistant Driscoll reviewed past results from an earlier effort: after initial identification, many candidate records were discarded as duplicates or already registered; net collections from the prior program were modest — he recounted that a past effort produced net collections of $12,003.76 after adjustments and removals — and stressed the value of an experienced contractor to winnow large data sets into collectible accounts.
Attorney Landrigan noted a key contract protection: “No compensation including the $50 be dispersed to the contractor until the actual monies are collected from the taxpayer,” a clause the attorney read from the proposed contract that counsel said limits city exposure.
Council debate touched on privacy and equipment. Some councilors asked whether license-plate reader equipment is restricted to police use; Ralston answered that state rules limit how some readers are used and that any subcontractors and equipment would need approval through the assessor’s office. Other members questioned the contractor’s 38% commission and whether the city should have sought competitive bids. The law director advised the council that, for professional services of this type, the city’s purchasing ordinance does not legally require a request for proposals and that direct negotiation is allowable.
After discussion the council approved the contract on a voice vote. Attorneys and staff said the contract can be canceled with 30 days’ notice and that no payment is due until collections hit city accounts. Councilors who supported the contract said the city has limited staff capacity to run the program internally and that a third-party vendor can produce recoverable revenue more efficiently than staff time alone.
Public comment preceding the vote included residents and at least one person who said he had previously proposed an alternative approach to locating untaxed vehicles.
