Wilkes-Barre going after delinquent sewer and recycling accounts to offset fee increases

WILKES-BARRE — Collection of delinquent sewer and recycling fees could help lighten the load of increases for those services sought by Mayor George Brown to balance his proposed $53.2 million budget for 2021.

Combined the delinquent accounts total approximately $600,000, City Administrator Charlie McCormick said Thursday.

“It’s too early to tell,” McCormick said of how much of a bite the collections could take out of the $2 million in proposed increases.

The city sent out notices on Oct. 26 to people with past-due accounts for the recycling fees, giving them 30 days to pay before it files liens.

“The administration is committed to filing liens,” McCormick said.

The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority recently mailed out approximately 600 notices for delinquent sewer fees, McCormick added.

The WVSA handles the billing for the two fees. The city is going after the recycling fees based on the account information provided by the WVSA, McCormick said.

The budget presented last month by Brown for approval by city council doubled the annual sewer and recycling fees to $100. He pitched the increases as more equitable than a property tax hike and a way to align the city’s fees with those charged by other municipalities.

In addition, recyclables picked up curbside by the city Department of Public Works no longer bring in revenue. The city pays to get rid of the paper, cardboard, plastics and metals it collects. The proposed 2021 budget increases the recycling tipping fee to $250,000 from $175,000 this year.

McCormick said going after the delinquencies is only right if the mayor is proposing higher fees.

Little was done in the past to collect the outstanding accounts. “It just wasn’t for any number of reasons,” McCormick The city hired a third party at one point for recycling, but it didn’t go very well, McCormick.

When asked by Brown if the city could do its own collection, McCormick said it could and recommended the lien notices.

The notice have generated some responses already, McCormick said. But the full effect is yet to be known. “We’ll know in 30 days,” he said.