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Souderton council adopts ordinance to hire collections solicitor, set fee schedule
Summary
The Souders—Souderton—Borough Council voted Jan. 6 to adopt Ordinance 24-812-14 authorizing a solicitor and a new fee schedule to aid collection of unpaid sewer and trash accounts; the manager said about 65 sewer accounts were delinquent and prior efforts recovered roughly $40,000.
Souderton Borough Council voted to adopt Ordinance 24-812-14 on Jan. 6, 2025, authorizing the borough to contract with a collections solicitor and establishing a schedule of attorney and collection fees for unpaid sewer and trash accounts.
The ordinance, explained in a summary presented to the council, has two primary purposes: to appoint a solicitor (named in the ordinance text as Michelle R. Portnall [transcribed] and the associated law firm) to assist in collecting unpaid municipal claims and to establish an updated fee schedule for those collections. The council record shows exhibits documenting publication and filing with the Montgomery County law library were entered into the record prior to the hearing.
During the public hearing, resident Michael Pipe asked how many delinquent sewer and trash accounts exist and what the borough expects to net after solicitor fees. The borough manager said the most recent review found about 65 delinquent sewer accounts and that prior collection work yielded about $40,000 in outstanding revenue. The manager cautioned that trash-account totals were not yet firm and that trash is harder to collect than sewer because shutoff is not an option.
The manager described the collections firm’s staged process: initial attempts to collect, escalating notices, and a series of steps before liens are placed on properties. The manager also said typical up-front mailing and processing charges per account would be passed through and reimbursed by the delinquent account holder when collected.
Council members moved to adopt the ordinance as advertised. The motion passed on a voice vote; the council chair called for ayes and heard consensus in favor. After the vote the council closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting.
The ordinance record in the meeting materials and the manager’s comments indicate the borough expects the solicitor arrangement to standardize collection practice and recover overdue amounts more efficiently. The exact projected net gain from the contract was not provided during the hearing; the manager said some costs are reimbursed by the delinquent parties and that trash-account totals remain to be determined.
Next steps: The ordinance was adopted at the meeting; implementation details about which accounts will be referred and the timing for engagement of the solicitor were not specified during the hearing.
