WEST POINT — The Clay County Board of Supervisors is taking steps to collect $153,000 in delinquent garbage bills.
Supervisors Thursday instructed the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District, which handles billing for the county”s Sanitation Department, to attempt to retrieve delinquent solid waste payments from approximately 300 property owners. The GTPDD will contact those property owners and then take legal action against citizens who don”t pay off their balances.
If land owners fail to pay, the county could place liens on their properties. The county is required to continue garbage pickup, however, even if property owners don”t pay.
The county is owed a total of $639,529 in delinquent solid waste bills, but only $153,000.48 is owed on “traceable” properties, Clay County Comptroller Amy Berry said. Traceable property is land owned by people, companies or estates which could be traced or contacted.
The remaining balance, $486,528, is owed by property owners whose contact information could not be traced, are deceased or whose properties have changed ownership, among other factors.
In a move designed to further assist in the collection process, supervisors Thursday also voted to allow the GTPDD to consider payments “delinquent” if they are past due by 90 days. The current policy considers accounts delinquent after 14 months.
The drop from 14 months to 90 days will make it easier for the GTPDD to collect delinquent bills from customers, GTPDD Executive Director Rudy Johnson told the board.
“The quicker you pursue somebody, the better off you are,” Johnson said. “If you reduce that time period from 14 months to 90 days, you will have a better chance of tracking these people down and taking them to Justice Court.”
“I think it will make a big difference,” he said later.
Supervisors Thursday also voted to remove dozens of accounts from the county”s active solid waste database. The properties were in portions of Clay County which were annexed into West Point and are now served by the city, but were still listed in the county”s database.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
