Lower Towamensing to hire law firm to pursue $100K in unpaid garbage bills

Lower Towamensing Township supervisors think they may have found a solution to a garbage bill problem — a law firm.

The township has more than $100,000 in garbage bills that property owners haven’t paid.

Supervisor Ron Walbert said at the meeting Tuesday that the lost funds could help cover the cost of needed road equipment.

Payment to the refuse company doesn’t go away just because property owners don’t pay. When people don’t pay their garbage bill, the township has to pick up the cost, Supervisors’ Chairman Brent Green said. The township can’t just stop picking up people’s trash because they didn’t pay their bill.

“The garbage fund is out of pocket,” Green said.

Attorney Kevin Buraks, from the King of Prussia office of Portnoff Law Associates, explained to the supervisors how they go about collecting the unpaid bills.

Their first step is to send out a letter explaining what is owed, the property owner’s options and the fees he or she will incur if the owner does not respond to the notice.

At this point, no legal fees will be charged to the owner, Buraks said. The goal is to get people to work with them to set up a payment plan.

Buraks said the firm realizes that sometimes people have a temporary hardship that prevents them from paying the bill, such as losing a job. They also know that for some people it’s a permanent hardship they are facing, and they strive to help these people as well.

The second step involves a legal demand letter that lets the owner know a lien will be filed against the property and a fee of $175 is charged to them.

The third step involves placing a lien on the property, sending the owner a notice of the lien, and charging the owner $250.

With each step, the firm gives the owner 35 days to respond and set up a payment plan, Buraks said. If the resident still does not respond, the firm pursues a few more steps, including securing a judgment against the property and having it placed for sheriff sale.

“There are few properties that go up for sale,” Buraks said.

Last year, the firm, which has several offices in Pennsylvania, sent notices to 49,000 property owners.

Of that number, 1.3 percent were listed for sale, and of that group, only 40 homes were sold, he said. The other property owners or mortgage companies settled the debt.

“We have significant less delinquencies over time,” Buraks said. People realize they have to pay their bills or set up a payment plan, because the loss of their property is a real possibility.

Buraks said the firm will also look at old delinquencies of several years and it does pursue them.

“If there are nine years of bills, we’ll consolidate them,” he said.

Township solicitor James Nanovic asked the supervisors if they would like to pursue a contract with the firm. If so, he would work on that.

“Yes, it needs to be done,” Walbert said.

The supervisors do not think they need to pursue working with the firm to collect delinquent property taxes at this time. But if it becomes a problem, then that is something they will consider doing.