City Treasury Faces Potential Delinquency Crisis
With less than one-third of city taxes collected by mid-August, Treasurer Shaw warns of an unprecedented pile-up of delinquent accounts.
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Unless city taxes are paid in faster the next eleven days than they have been the past two weeks, Treasurer Shaw will be compelled to turn over to the delinquent tax collector on August 31 a larger amount for collection than has appeared on the delinquent list for years. City taxes became due August 1, and of the $50,000 on the rolls for collection this year, but a trifle over $14,000 has so far found its way into the city's pockets. In the five years that Treasurer Shaw has been custodian of the city's funds, never have city taxes come in so slowly as this year. Either property owners are shy on ready cash or else are deferring payment until the last moment. The latter is probably the real cause, as it has not been heard that deposits in the three banks of the city have shown any decrease.
“Either property owners are shy on ready cash or else are deferring payment until the last moment.”
Municipal tax collection struggles are a recurring civic heartbeat. Just as Treasurer Shaw fretted over property owners holding onto cash in 1903, modern municipal governments continue to navigate the friction between public budget requirements and taxpayer liquidity.
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