Treasurer Donald outlines collection shortfalls, plans state debt-offset and details water shutoffs

Donald, the city treasurer, delivered a comprehensive update on the city’s finances and collections at the March 3 Manassas Park Governing Body meeting, reporting gaps in collection rates, new recovery efforts and recent utility shutoffs.

Donald began by describing his early office changes and legal reporting obligations, citing “article 7, section 2-126” as the requirement to report on city finances, and said he intends to present updates quarterly. He said he has already identified and recovered previously unclaimed compensation-board funds that will reimburse a third employee and strengthen office operations.

On collections, Donald gave a category-by-category accounting. He said business-license receipts are roughly $1.29 million with about 92.5% collected; business personal-property collections totaled about $1.13 million with roughly a 77.5% collection rate; meals-tax receipts were reported at about $625,580 and roughly 90.6% collected; and personal-property collections reached $4,767,576 with $1,377,737 outstanding (a total of $6,145,314, about 77.6% collected). For real-estate taxes he reported near-99% collection for prior years (about $36.3 million with roughly $365,000 outstanding) and said current-year receipts are still rising as new assessments are posted.

“We have over 4,000 accounts in this city who are not paid,” Donald said, urging residents to contact the treasurer’s office to discuss payment. He warned that enforcement steps could follow for accounts that remain delinquent and reminded the public that fines and penalties apply per city code.

To increase recoveries, Donald said the city will enroll in the state’s debt-offset program (sometimes called tax intercept). He said the program allows the city to upload delinquent-account files so the state can intercept income-tax refunds and lottery winnings above $600 and remit recovered amounts to the city after a taxpayer challenge period. “We could have intercepted refunds last year but we weren’t in the program,” he said, and pledged to enroll to capture otherwise-missed revenue.

Donald also described operational and banking fixes: he said a bank review moved many accounts from zero interest to a formula-based yield (roughly 3.15% less a small spread) and that his office is pursuing equipment and processing changes so checks and payments post faster.

On utilities, Donald reported that the office conducted water and sewer shutoffs — the first in three months — affecting 116 accounts initially; outreach and payments reduced that number to 13 households still without service over the weekend. He urged residents to use automatic debit enrollment and said the office will increase cross-training to provide surge capacity during personal-property and utility billing seasons.

Councilmembers asked several operational and policy questions, including whether the city can pursue DMV holds, administrative hearings, booting or publication of delinquents; the treasurer said those tools may be available and he is consulting with the Treasurer’s Association of Virginia and other jurisdictions before proposing changes. He also noted software limitations in the city’s current billing systems and said he will explore consolidation to reduce manual processes.

On the fiscal cost of local relief programs, Donald said 100% disabled-veteran tax relief costs $495,528 annually and elderly/disabled relief (income- and asset-tested) costs $414,730, a combined $910,259 in foregone revenue — about 4 cents on the local real-estate tax rate.

Donald flagged additional cross-departmental collection work, noting roughly $1.2 million in uncollected police tickets that will require legal or procedural follow-up. He told the council he will return with further updates in a few months.

The treasurer repeatedly asked residents with unpaid bills to contact his office rather than ignore notices. “Not saying anything and hoping it will go away is not a good strategy,” he said, and encouraged use of the city website’s free e-check functions for tax payments when available.

The governing body took no formal vote on enforcement changes at the meeting; several members expressed support for pursuing both voluntary compliance and targeted enforcement where necessary.