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Finance committee backs two-year extension of Warwick's tax-collection contract with Rossi
Summary
The Warwick City Council Finance Committee voted to favorably recommend a two-year extension of a collection-services contract with law firm Rossi, which has collected about $2 million to date. Tax collector Kyla Jones provided collection figures and agreed to share Rossi's recent activity reports.
The Warwick City Council Finance Committee voted to send a two-year extension of the city's collection-services contract with Rossi to the full council, after the tax collector outlined recent results and answered detailed questions from members.
Kyla Jones, the city's tax collector, told the committee she requested the extension and an added $150,000 in spending authority, to be split between two account codes, to allow Rossi to continue pursuing delinquent motor-vehicle, personal-property and rescue-fee accounts. "They received 14 and a half percent from their letter campaign and 24% from litigation accounts and rescue fees," Jones said, adding that Rossi's efforts have netted about $2,000,000 to date while roughly $8,000,000 was sent to Rossi for an initial letter campaign in July 2024.
Committee members pressed Jones for year-by-year breakouts and asked why large balances remained uncollected. Jones replied that some accounts are uncollectible (deceased taxpayers, defunct corporations), some debtors do not respond to mailings, and Rossi is limited in where it can file suit geographically. "If they move to a different state, they'd have to contract someone else," she said. She also said Rossi files monthly reports and agreed to provide the committee with the most recent Rossi activity report covering 2024.
During public comment, Ward 9 resident Anne Sheridan asked for counts and dollar totals for personal-property bills from 2017—2019; Jones provided ballpark figures (2017 about $200,000; 2018 about $207,000; 2019 about $250,000) and said Rossi can supply lists of defunct corporations.
After questions and public input, the committee voted favorably on the measure (recorded as PCR 38-26 in committee paperwork) and forwarded the extension to the full council for final action.
What happens next: The measure will appear on the council floor with the committee's favorable recommendation; Jones said she would produce Rossi's recent report covering 2024 activity for council review.
(Reporting note: All quotes and figures come from the committee's transcript and the tax collector's presentation.)
