MANASSAS — City Treasurer Patricia Richie-Folks is getting some back up in the effort to collect delinquent taxes.
Manassas city coffers are short more than $4.5 million back taxes — everything from unpaid meals, lodging, personal property, to business and professional licensing taxes. The delinquent taxes date back to 2014. By law, has five years to collect them or forego the revenue.
Richie-Folks has one person in her office that works full-time to collect back taxes and, apparently, she’s swamped.
“Our attention is now only on the 2018 delinquent taxes,” she said.
The City Council unanimously voted to contact with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC to collect. The firm will investigate whether or not the unpaid debt is still valid, and then will charge a 20 percent fee that will be tacked onto the delinquent tax bill, and paid by the taxpayer, for their services.
Some taxes, such as personal property taxes on cars owned by people who have moved out of the city, won’t be able to be collected, said City Manager Patrick Pate.
Residents who owe back taxes are encouraged to pay them now to avoid the fee that will be charged by the collection firm, said Pate.
“As a smaller jurisdiction, these [back taxes] numbers are impressive,” said Councilwoman Pamela Sebesky. “The residents who have paid their taxes to cover the needs of the city, to try and get this money, I see it as a very important thing to not overburden our taxpayers.”
