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Treasurer warns of $222,000 in delinquent taxes, leaving small year‑end fund balance
Summary
Townshend's treasurer told the select board the town finished the year with a roughly $42,000 fund balance after using prior surplus, and reported about $222,000 in uncollected property taxes driving the shortfall; the board asked staff to meet with collection officers to identify causes and remedies.
Connie Crockett, presenting the year‑end finances, told the board the town closed the fiscal year with a small fund balance after dipping into prior surplus to cover gaps. “There are delinquent taxes that are over $200,000 that is impacting our general fund,” Connie said, flagging an approximate $222,000 shortfall in uncollected taxes for the current tax year.
Connie and the chair reviewed historical delinquency figures, noting prior years had much smaller delinquent totals (tens of thousands of dollars), and urged staff to pursue a plan for collections. The board directed staff to invite Becky (tax collector staff) to the next meeting to explain collection challenges and possible remedies; members also discussed whether changes to tax rate setting or outreach could reduce future delinquencies.
Board members said the issue is a pressing budget risk that is not attributable to normal expense overruns but to missing revenue, and they emphasized getting a plan to identify large persistent delinquencies (including possible probate matters) and to consider long‑term changes to billing or enforcement procedures.
