A combination of final notices, threats of legal action, and offers of payment arrangements has helped Bridgeville collect tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid real estate taxes from around town.
The 2016 delinquent tax list has decreased by more than 35% recently, councilman Joe Verduci reported earlier this month.
“There’s still a nice sized amount that we’d like to see removed,” he said, “but it’s nice to see that number go down significantly.”
In March, the borough officials announced their intention to crack down on overdue real estate taxes, which totaled nearly $116,000 at that point.
The borough sent some taxpayers final collection notices with the option of payment arrangement. If those property owners didn’t send a response, Bridgeville would file a claim with the magistrate, borough manager Lori Collins said in March.
In other tax-related news, a mild winter has helped put Bridgeville in a relatively strong mid-year financial position, according to Verduci, who heads the borough’s finance committee.