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Vendor tells Rosenberg council texting and litigation are boosting collections; $370,000 delinquency noted
Summary
Purdue (collections vendor) reported roughly $370,000 in delinquent taxes and fines (later about $340,000), described outreach methods including 38,000 texts and planned postcard/warrant-roundup efforts, and said collections are at about 51–77% for recent years depending on the cycle.
Mike Darlow, the presenter from the city's collections vendor, briefed the Rosenberg City Council on the annual status of collections for delinquent taxes, municipal court fines and fees, false-alarm fees, mowing/demolition/paving assessments and similar accounts.
Darlow said the vendor's November report showed roughly $370,000 in outstanding accounts through 2024; he later noted that closing out November reduced the balance to about $340,000. He told the council the bulk of the outstanding balances were from 2023 and 2024 and that newer delinquencies are more collectible.
To increase contact rates the vendor has expanded text and email outreach. "We've sent over 38,000 texts," Darlow said, describing a program that places the vendor's logo in messages to help recipients distinguish the texts from scams. He said texting and email have produced increased engagement versus letters and phone calls and that the vendor avoids negotiating payment agreements — its role is to drive account-holders to the courts, which handle resolution.
Darlow described litigation and tax-sale processes the vendor uses when other outreach fails, and said the vendor will run a warrant-roundup campaign and mail a large postcard push to increase recovery. He emphasized that all vendor services are provided at no cost to the city and that the costs are borne by the people who owe delinquent amounts.
Council members asked about how phone numbers are obtained, the accuracy of text/email targeting, and consumer-protection implications; Darlow said the vendor corroborates contact information through research before sending messages. No policy changes were made at the meeting; council thanked the vendor for the report.
