Scranton sent out 7,800 delinquent garbage bills late last week dated from 1999 through 2011 in an effort to boost revenue.
The city treasurer's office was swamped Tuesday with residents paying or contesting bills they claim were erroneously issued, said Treasurer Chris Boland.
If a property owner can produce proof of payment, such as a receipt or canceled check, his office will certify that the fee was paid, he said.
"We're handling them on an individual basis," Mr. Boland said of complaints.
He could not immediately provide a total of outstanding delinquent garbage fees. But officials previously have said the city typically collects $700,000 to $800,000 in delinquent garbage fees annually.
In most years, delinquent trash bills would have been mailed in late January to mid-February. This year, however, the delinquency notices for 2011 were significantly delayed by the transition to a new collection agency, officials have said.
The transition left the city without an easily accessible record of which property owners still owe all or part of the $178 annual fee from 2011 and earlier, officials have said.
Northeast Revenue Service Inc., which in February was authorized by the city to collect delinquent refuse fees, used the city's written records to compile an electronic database of who had and had not paid trash fees, officials have said.
The delinquencies were previously collected by Northeast Credit and Collections, which stopped working for the city at the end of 2010. Northeast Revenue was hired in August 2011 to collect delinquent real estate taxes, but the collection of back garbage fees was not added to its contract until February.
In the interim, the record-keeping that was previously performed by Northeast Credit lapsed, and Northeast Revenue was not in a position to immediately play catch-up because it was concentrating on preparations for the June 4 sale of tax-delinquent properties, which was the city's first tax sale in 14 years, Mr. Boland said.
Because last week's mailing of delinquent trash-fee bills was followed by the weekend and Veterans Day when City Hall was closed, Tuesday was the first opportunity for property owners to come into City Hall to either pay or contest bills, Mr. Boland said. The line was 15 to 20 people deep at times, said Mr. Boland, adding, "I imagine this will go on for a while."
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com