CARBONDALE - Following the lead of city council, the Carbondale Area School Board on Wednesday unanimously voted to publish the names of delinquent taxpayers.
There were more than $505,000 in delinquent taxes from residents of Carbondale city and about $100,000 in delinquent taxes from residents of Fell Twp. for the 2012-13 school year, which have not been paid as of Jan. 1, Carbondale Area School District Business Manager David Cerra said.
District officials estimate they will spend about $1,000 to have the names published, although the time frame and medium has yet to be determined.
"We're going to get these taxes with penalties and interests. Whether this speeds up the process, we'll see," Mr. Cerra said.
The school board voted on the issue the same day a list of delinquent city taxpayers appeared in the Carbondale News.
Printing the four pages of names was not meant to embarrass anyone, said Carbondale Mayor Justin Taylor. Tax bills are sent out each spring and become delinquent if unpaid by Dec. 31. Those residents also were warned of the impending publication in delinquent notices the city sent out.
The one-day advertisement cost the city $2,400, and Mr. Taylor hopes to collect much more than that in delinquent taxes.
Though there have been some complaints, he also has heard from residents who said it was a great idea to publish the list.
"It's public record," he said. "It's not like we did anything wrong. People were never held responsible in the past."
Mr. Taylor said the city has borrowed approximately $3 million since he took office a decade ago, primarily to pay off debt.
Even with strong budgeting, he said the delinquent taxes have held back the city's finances.
"It may be drastic in the sense that the city has never done it before," he said. "I'm not going to continually take the blame for the city running behind every year."
"People need to know that the best-laid plan, as far as a budget goes, is only as good as the revenue side of things," he said.
Also at Carbondale Area School District's meeting Wednesday, the school board authorized its legal representatives to hire an architecture firm to review with construction plans for the Junior Senior High School. The move is in response to a lawsuit filed earlier this month by contractor Mar-Paul, claiming the district has not paid them for work done on the school's renovation project completed in the fall.
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