Tax collector reports strong collections, outlines new "bank executions" to pursue long-delinquent business accounts

The town’s tax collector reported robust collection figures and outlined a new enforcement step aimed at long-delinquent business accounts. "As of this morning ... we have collected just over $102.5 million," the collector said, adding the office is at roughly a 97.5% collection rate and needs about $400,000 more to meet this year's target.

The collector explained most budget increases reflected operational shifts — for example, receipt paper, validator ribbons and a toner cartridge for a high-volume printer were moved from the centralized finance budget into department-specific lines, producing a large percentage increase in the materials-and-supplies line even though the dollar amounts are modest.

On enforcement, he said the office introduced "bank executions" in November/December to target business personal property accounts that have been delinquent for multiple years. He described the process: staff compile a list of problem accounts, issue warrants to banks to identify and place holds on matching accounts, and incorporate an exemption form so eligible entities can claim protected funds. He emphasized the tool has so far been limited to business personal property and not used for real estate or motor-vehicle tax collection.

The tax collector defended a balanced approach: the town uses delinquent notices and payment plans for many taxpayers but pursues foreclosure or bank execution when accounts remain unresolved. Counsel for the town described the longer-term effort to reduce outstanding delinquencies from nearly $2 million pre-COVID to about $300,000 going into the new fiscal year.

The board approved the tax collector's FY27 request by voice vote; the agenda copy contained a formatting error for the requested amount that staff noted during discussion. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.