HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-1988
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I I PERFORMANCE REPORT:
N DELINQUENT AD VALOREM TAB` ~
COLLECTION SERVICES
FOR THE
CITY OF DENTON
i
MAY 1988
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PREPARED BY:
6HEARD, GOGGAN, BLAM & .W'IWAM ►
Attorneys at Law
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Performance Report, ~ J
Delinquent Ad Valorem Tax ? 1
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Collection Services
,
! for the
CITY OF DENTON
a May, 1988
Prepared by:
,
Heard, Goggan, Blair & Williams
" Attorneys at Law
111-B West McKinney
Denton, Texas 76202 1019 Tower Life Building
San Antonio, Texas 75205 t
2323 Bryan Street 830 Littlefield Building
Suite 1720 Austin, Texas 78701
Dallas, Texas 75201
Zell & C]as Building 3000 Citicorp Center i
Suite 1414 1200 Smfth Street
309 W. 7th Street Houston, Texas 77002
Pont Worth, Texas 76102
210 West Davis, Suite 170
3, 05 Boca Chica Conroe, Texas 77301
Suite 160 608 N, Front Street
Browns Ille, 'Texas 78521 Angleton, Texas 77515
1015 Juarez 500 Liberty Streit
4Z Laredo, Texas 78040 Richmond, Texas 77469
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H5ARD, GOGGAN, GLAIR, WILLIAMS & HARpiSON
/
r OLIVER 8. HEARD, 9R ATTORNEYS AT LAW
0 91619 7 71 ALLIAN2 FINANCIAL CCNTRE
SUITE 1720 ALPREOO PAOILLA
OLIVER 4, I/EARO,JR S
, t.OWCLLF DENTON
THOMAS 9. tl000AN, III 2323 BRYAN 9T JOIIN J HORN, III
STEPHEN 6, BLAIR DAL.-A9, TEXAS 78201 D"E7RIS A. SAMPSON
JIM BLAIR LAWRfiNCE H. BOIVEN
yY
LESLIE W 04 '11N. WILUAh16,JR. 12141 680.0069 JAMES b
,f STANTON
"
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=`y AROLb L C HUN RISON C1IRIBTOPHER L.PIIII.LIPPE i°
r, 4+. HAROLD 0 pbTMAN, JR. CLIFTON F OOUOLASS, 111
r HENRVC.MEYER
YAhIARRIPq May 131 7 1988c70 REBECCA P. F'JS7AMANTL
r 4UpE PETE SANDOVAL
t i. RICHARD R, ORSINOER
041VENO E.CANALE4 0, L . ELAINE JEFFERSON
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OkLANOOL OAkCIA nICHA40 A. SO
CHARLOTTE O. TRIPP .
SAVNORIA R, CHASE
Mr. John McGrane
Executive Director of Finance
City of Denton
E. E. McKinney
Denton, Texas 76201
Dear Mr. McGranel
Heard, Go gan, Blair & Williams is pleased to present this report regarding the
collection of delinquent ad valorem taxes for the City Present
this report is In give
Denton, The purpose le
delinquent taxes as you an ` Overview of our performance In the collection of
we, as to highlight our program approach
The law firm of Heard, GOggan,
taxes for the City of Denton Blair & Williams has been collecting delinquent
on since July, 1986, with the specific gnat Of conducting
a Vigorous, comprehensive tax collection pogram that would produce maximum tax
dollars with the least cost and administratrive burden to the City, f
Collection Perrinrmance
Heard, doggan, Blair
Denton In delln Williams has collected $1315570 for the city of
I ~ ~ . uent taxes
, pennl:y and interest since July, 7986. When we first
spoke with the
Ity Of Denton about Collecting delinquent taxes for the
City, we
hoped that we might significantly Increase the delinquent taxes collected in the
first 'year, In fact, in our first year we more than doubled the amount of
delinquent taxes colected during the . -vfous year. Total call,etin
year of our contract ns i
amounted to 22210 if the previous year, In the first
This lnrrease has continued In the second year of our contract, during which
we have already collected more in the first nine months than we did In the entire
previous year, We project that In the twelve month period ending June 30, 1988
we will have collected $793,636, or 271% of the amount collected two ye,,irs earlier,
before our contract began, We are understandably proud of achieving this large
Increase In collections even during difficult economic times,
Exhibit 1 shows the increase to collections during the two years of our
contract. Exhibit 2 presents a breakdown of the status of the delinquent tax roll,
explainingg such things as which accounts are under lawsuit In bankruptcy, or
uncollectfble because they are barred by the statute of limitations,
'~T'• BAN ANTONIO IItlUBiON I
S
TOWS" LIFE AN gUILtlINO HOOD CITICORA CENTER AUSTIN FORT WORTH
TENTH FLOOR H000 ITICOXA 677002 930 LITTLEFIELD 640. OIL A OAS OLD, 6UIT61414 30015N9VAC
BAN ANTONIO, t9XA67920b 1713!966•, 1OE ALAITIN, TEXAS 711701 300 W. 7TH. St 36OTEIGO NIOA
SAN ANTONIO. 1612)400.1491 FORT WORTH, TWA V0102 SROWN6WLLC,TEMAS 7R691
rBI71977•dbdO (6121 1544A061
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EXHIBIT 1 -
` City of Denton
r Comparison of Delinquent Tax Collections
(Base Tax Plus Penalty and Interest) j e♦
Thousands
$900 _
$793,636
I $800 {271 1
X660,339
$700 (222y) =eea,zar ~i
(227x) 1
$600
fit! $500
a
$400
$292,78e ! I
F. $300 (loo%) f j
`t $200
$100[
$0
s
July 86 - June 88 July 86 - June 87 July 87 - June 88
Colleatlone Prior to Contract with Heard, Ooggan, dlalr and Willlarne
MMM&M Actual Colleotlonr During Contract with Heard, Ooggon, Blair and Wllllame
Profeoted Colleotlons During April 1988 w June 1888,
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EXHIBIT 2
City of Denton L
Status of Accounts a
s of may 1988
1986 and prior Year Taxes
I (base Tax)
Lawsuit
$165,022,30
36,27e f
M
Unaalleotlble ~
1,13
7,1Y
Statute of
payment
Arrangement Limitations
$23,440,50 M_ 9656r'r$3,11
r Er ~ 5, i y .~w W 12:4y !
t
Erxemptlon
(040-67
u' z,4s '
/ $ankrupfrv
` Clear Aaoounts !
20,17: 7,67;
Sad Address Other
$29,516,36 $12,098,11 i
fi,57: 2, 71'
3
Total Base Tax;
$456,,397671
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Denton Office
As ramised, we opened an office In Denton, located on McKinney Street, near
the City ~4al1, in order to provide personalized service to City of Denton taxpayers.
Our Denton office assists in answering taxpayer questions, in performing address
and ownership research, and In handling the movement of litigation through the
court system. We are proud of the performance of the Denton office and are
pleased to be a contributing member of the community, 1
. f Statewide Organization
We have built a statewide organization to serve our clients that Is comprised
of three hundred (300) persons, including attorneys, system designers, analysts,
computer programmers, managers, finance specialists, public relations specialists,
paralegals, collectors, clerks and secretaries.
" Our firm collects delinquent taxes for more than eighty (80) Jurisdictions
r throughout Texas including eleven out of the twelve largest political subdivisions,
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Program Approach
Our comprehensive tax collection program for the City hits included address ~
and roblem account research, taxpayer correspondence, telephone collection, j
lltlgatlon and bankruptcy proceedings, We coordinate mailings and lawsuits to
M create credibilityry for our collection letters, To enhance the Impact of our
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t;1 collection activities, news releases and other types of media attention have been
timed to coincide' with mallings and the filing of lawsuits, The flowchart In
Attachment 11 graphically Illustrates the delinquent tax collection process that our
firm utilizes.
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Collection/Research
Our collection program Is a combination of several effort A delinquent tax
fa cannot be collected p until the taxpayer is properly advised of the unresolved
f account, In addition to telephone contact and written notificatlon, we exert In-
depth collection and research efforts In order to contact and locate taxpayers by
telephone and letter and identify property owners, If a delinquent taxpayer
f1 dlsregards repeated notices from our firm, litigation Is Initiated, Legal action is
resorted to only after the taxpayer Is properly notified and given the option to
resolve the delinquency, I
Demand Letter Mailing Activity 1
Upon receipt of the July delinquent tax roll, we send a tax collection letter on +
j our attorney letterhead stationery to every eligible account, The Initial contact of
the taxpayer Is to Insure that the taxpayer is aware of the delinquent taxes and to t
warn him or her that legal action will be inltlwted within ten (10) days If the
action is not resolved,
Since July, 1986, Heard, COaggan, Blair & Williams has conducted four. (4)
separate mass mailings to delinquent taxpayers and sent 6,266 demand letters, This
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does not include the hundreds of follow-up letters tile ` taxpayer communications and as a result of resolved reseagrcheproblemsespnnse to
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Litigation
4 A successful collection effort must be litigation oriented, While every 1
a' reasonable effort Is made to collect a delinquent account without filing a lawsuit, it
often becomes evident that a lawsuit Is the only viable avenue to the collection of
taxes. However, the mere filing of lawsuits
is not sufficient Process must be ~
served, and cases must be set and carried to judgment, Cases which are not paid
as a result of judgments will be collected by execution and sale.
A total of 196 lawsuits filed for the City are at different stagges of litigation.
These suits seek to recover $165,022 in base tax, or 36,2 percent of the delinquent t
tax roll (please see Exhibit 2),
Recognizing that our volume of lJtlgatinn l~ttpacts the workload of the court
system, we are continually striving to improve the quality of the suits we file to
ensure that we have a suable entity, an agent and address for se' ~
and a strong possibility of a collectible Judgment, Before a lawCsuit of is process {
extensive research is conducted and taxpayers are contacted by writing and often by
telephone.
Media Campaign
fir.. Heard, noggan, Blair & Williams continually works with the mass media to 1
1 enhance our collection efforts and to mobilize editorial and public support, ;
'T'elevision, radio and newspaper reports have been extremely favorable to the tax
collection program. Please see Attachment III for examples of the favorable media
coverage the City of Denton has received,
Future Improvements
The success by Heard, Goggnn, Blair & Williams In meeting Its goals to collect
the maximum number of delinquent tax dollars for the City of Denton Is a result of
the aggressive and camprehensive )rogram that is conducted on a dally basis. With
the wealth of knowledge learned] In the past two years with the sophisticated
program tailored for the Clty, and with our unique~lyy qualified tax professionals we
are confident of our performanco in the future. Clur firm is keenly were of the
City's need for additional revenue during the present statewide economlc downturn,
We are also aware of the increased challenge of collecting delinquent taxes caused F
by these more difficult economlc times, As a direct response to this challengge our
firm Is focusing on working harder and working smarter to maximize collectlons In
each period, while providing responsiveness to taxpayer problems. We ore working I
to make our programs cash-flow sensitive in every respect, and collect t ach dollar
as ettrly as feasible in the lax cycle,
We are committed to the City of Denton and consider ourselves to be your
partner, It Is our belief that our efforts In delinquent ad valorem tax collection
have contributed significantly to the ability of the City to provide vital services to
the community.
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1 . We particularly appreciate the support and assistance of the City staff and
compliment them for their hard work and dedication, Throughout our efforts on
s behalf of the Ciiij
ty, your staff members have served as our partners, working
productively with our firm in what we believe to be an exemplary attorney-client
f+ relationship.
M,
f Wa: consider It a privilege to continue to assist you In the collection of
delinquent ad valorem taxes,
Kindest personal regards,
trt' SInc rely,
t4'
ST MN S, BLAI
SSB.Im
'taex' Enclosures {
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ATTACHMENT I
1'4r~Y1 7,~~ ~ ~
STATISTICAL INFORMATION
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CITY OF DENTON
` DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTIONS
{}t ' JULYo 1985 . JUNE, 1986
i~~44M 4 I
" (YEAR BEFORE IICBW)
Month Delinquent Tax Penaltyq& Interest Total
July, 1985 $13,218.31 $3,405,18
$16,623.49
August, 1985 22,354.99 51544.87 27,399.86
September, 1985 16,320.17 4,452.19 20,772.36
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October, 1985 17,238,03 4,897.17 22,135.20
November, 1985 10,427.89 21958,73 13,386.62 f ,
December, 1985 51,669.03 15,326.50 66,995.53
January, 1986 24,742.33 71659.82 320402.15
February, 1986 16,297.92 4,964.58 21,262,50
March, 1986 41178.48 11758,13 5,936.61 ?
' April, 1986 18,896.43 8,448.16 27,344,59
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May, 1986 9,218,72 41506.49 13,725.21
'f June, 1986 18,900.81 5,403.32 24,304.13 r
TOTAL $223,463.11 $69,325.14 $292,788.25
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TABLE 2
} CITY OF DEN., JN
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I DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTIONS
JULY, 1986 . JUNE, 1987
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Delinquent
Month Delinquent Tax Penalty & Interest Total
July, 1986 $1530393,93 $34,969,38 $188,363,31
August, 1986 53,448,76 11,709.01 65,157,77
September, 1986 39,106,84 11,503,57 50,610,41
z.
October, 1986 31,975.64 91948,17 41,923,81
November, 1986 31,684,05 8,413,40 40,097,45
December, 1996 53,523,75 16,937.08 70,460,83
January, 1987 15,432,14 3,219"02 18,651,16
February, 1987 13,754.72 4,653.63 18,408,35 I
March, 1987 39,512,77 11,932.62
SI,445.39
April, 1987 44,658.29 14,800.72 59,459.01
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A May, 1987 14,209.41 60116,46 20,325,87
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June, 1987 17,958,47 79476,95 25,435,42
TOTAL
$508,658.77 $141,680,01 $650,338"78
COMPARISON f
PERCENTAGE 227.63% 204.37% 222.12010 I
TO 1985.1986
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` CITY OF DENTON f
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DELINQUENT TAX COLLR
CTONS
2 "'LY, 1917 • MARCH, 1988
YEAR IIOB%)
(SECOND
Month
I Delinquent Tax Delinquent
Penalty & Interest
July, 1987 Total
$103,357.83
t r ~ August, 1987 $211198,00
127,178,12 $124,555,83
September, 1987 27,356.15
89,989,45 154,534,27 ;
October, 1987 44,792,86 200144,78 110,134,23
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fi November, 1987 12:735.21 57,528A7
+ 35,333,76
December, 1987 91363.02 44,696,78
38,200.87
January, 11,345 54
' r 1988
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48,980,30 49,546,41
February, 1988 14,035,83
24,769.17 63,016,13
' r March, 1988 71461,18. ~
32,230,35
,07,81 '
3,781,17
TOTAL 28,988,98
$127,420.88 ,
`---w--y- $665,231x05
Isf COMPARISON C t
PERCENTAGE ~
TO 1986-1987 105,73% 89,94%
102,29% I
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TABLE 4 1
CITY OF DENTON
A. STATUS OF ACCOUNTS AS OF MAY 1988
E
1986 AND PRIOR YEAR TAXES
(,BASE TAX)
Number of Percent t
` Accounts Base Tax of Total
' Lawsuit 196 $165,022.30 36.2%
Clear Accounts 401 91,525,66 20.1%
` Statute of Limitations 548 56,783,11 12,4%
Bankruptcy 101 34,589.87 7.6%
Uncollectible 31 32,481.13 7,1%
k Bad Address 143 29416.36 6.5Ve
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Payment Arrangement 35 23,440.50 51 1ve
Age Exemption 17 10,940,67 2,4%a
Other 113 120098.11 2.7%
All Accounts on Pile 11585 $456,39771 100.0
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k~zljlt~ ATTACHMENT It
I s DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTION PROCESS
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Heard, Goggan, Blain Williams Fr Harrison
Delinquent Tax Collection Process
No response Problems
Return Mail
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ATTACRMENT ICI
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PUBLIC INFORMATION DOCUMENTATION
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Denton Record-Ch r
oniclc
} 58 pages in .D sections Vol. X `ro. 952 Denton, Texas September In, 1987 25 cents
f
City fides Lawsuits
Y FrOMAA
2 S1utS for fog are Against
bus
Pro" such
- AS lawen~rWEIN And "WMent, and
p Ct the law firm k Noridng with title
ate taxes oompanlee and Uentaiders so real
property torecloslim oa buildings
By Cheryl Welch Hastings and land can be started, a law
s Bumneu riter tirmspateawonoaplald;
The city of Denton Tuesday filed Thin the std year the city
iawsults seeking property foreclosure of has Jot12sd ft* llWfation,
and «ty flnletce dlreotor John 1
egainat 26 Denton businesses that didn't
pay low or earlier municipal taxes 6ioa)rana sold from pow on It will
p~s baling 441,06, 64, be an A12mtal nub".
li ' 112 And soen, 971 others - a mixture of 11112 OMM,c dMtuMO it's
fffff„ buslnesres and residents - will rNalve sewn more un to collect all
3 final warning letters giving them one taxes WHM . other me. N
more chance to pay up before their lsue sources A1111 111, do" 11 he
prop" is paled for foreclosure, Those a" "So rather than trawler the
971 owe more than 1SMX4 In delinquent btude12 to Woaa who pay 112 Hme,
11A771e suits Are part of A pooled effort of ' lays is a wsylbef to. Make forsh sore J
seven Metroplex cities, two schoolYs t
districts and two counties to recover more McOrm uld the number of 11
than 156 million in delinquent taxes from dalingwnt tax aommili are About
1,600 nowtucpayers, flee sameAa tat year, {
The Action was announced Tuekla by '"ftwyare who MW4 A final
D riw, Heard, scat n, Blair, Williams ling the him betag ftW o* ff a tltls~M~eyy LI~n {
~ riaon, the e statewids de lA aDwtirm handling ism" s I
litigation, forward Aed M thole dd
" Other taxing entitles Included in the taseabumedlately,"aubfdONWr
man filing werel Dallas County, the city beard Jrn, A law dens partw,
of DAUU, b1UAs Independent School '1% odds Of gottift swd an high
i~ryi1r` I
District, Fort Worth, Fort Womb Isb, becaum the tim is
Vast
Ariington, Carroillon, Seagovwe, Elver Maciurm to contmerce pro I
t t • Oaks And Hunk County, uecua badeods of lAwttutb ao m
I a~~ The 2e Denton btuinasee named In the UsAfaaeachweelu"
suits filed Tuesday didn't respond to final Heard acid the fUing of a
warning letters malled, In-,July, The d6wilwat tax coosetloe salt
u, NI
See LAWSUITS/4A MW ~M Am ppaw
the tax babUlty, He said the time
spew dsNadhtg rt lawauit,Also r
IN12id wAMMI kitten melted I12
July matted bt more than Woo
s likd*u" task penalty And 1*
terut, Aoea'ding to the law am
I tdetref PI1x, ddtngattI%rwgw eye~ra
paid 113,4 million withl1246 dAy1 of
reeeivtng theJuly letter, AbeaAld.
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DENTON RECORD CHRONICLE
Thursday, September 250
1986
+Ypyr'. j
Delin
quent taipayers f
mailed `final
notices,'
ailn es city t". Pere have
been malaUed a Tha
r!. fi fUln
nAl of
wa a
~f let tern by the San rnlnd ftnech" sins auto ~t 4x
b Antonio law
i hired ~by' the city to coUeot r= obll then the often m
news release, ACCOrdln~ to d sOY „ Duns Of taxes
Y' Nerd acid ,In
dditi
r` The letter' Advisee delnquent
` rpaYen that tf nleacee~ofA there ~onve
Bblr, WUUanu e, ff+►rrli oa~wlbi
canvol nd lawsuits to recover taxes, campb Dame , by voluntary
tUitf aiton~
rut owed to the Jay Andersop,
Y o 1>entoa's~, I
' 4tie6,tiol,el, Tut Amount tots is boot director of ftna
' Also, del delinquent tax e' said aU
WYera art on.
mobil. hom" an >tlrcWrittwaN w CO" `db~ln h ,
belrgf informed that It they tltU to ono, , 'MO ~w MW by the law
v} rY their taxes, teal Action is strutted by the cis 01 Denton to
mminent! pra Y
Denton to
who
Oliver S, lfeard Jr,. senior ah Veecuwont need
Ignore
don ? Aw flrtnA Uld emirs tor vin~ notttw,'I
ft~ tA~ea to taxpayers who pay Anyone who has questions i
fr delinquent emowots for to the c ct deUnquent taxes
~ f flllnwofalaweul t, Lim law ILm office all
free at 14"14W.
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DALLAS TIMES HERALD
September 20, 's , 1986
r page 24A
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Tax warnfinga mailed
k r The cit
y s law firm has mailed
final warning fetters to 1,042 delln•
quent tax
r°1 facelewsuits if theebilllling them
rernaintun- !
paid, A spokeswoman fn
Heard r the
t 0991111i glalr,' Williams &
` flarrlson law
firm said delinquent
taxpayers owe $t388,50t3 In unpaid
taxes, penalties and interest. Delin•
quent taxpayers have 10 days to re.
spond before a lawsuit will be
tiled, For more information
may call l ,,0-441-0960, ' people
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• ....rayy;#~rtiyy~~Yh rd'S,tt~ed~ ~wy~'M rN ;;i:-.,, i-'
R"i'rM +!mN"''d rv.:a r,o:-^9 FOR 1110414 ONNN" PM WAO Wow 'YWii r+.... I
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DENTON RECORD CHRONICLE THURSDAY, JULY 17, 1986
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t ,r Notices sent by' law firm to collect taxes 11
61
The San Antonio law firm hired by the city of City offleiale'hiredINlawfirm. earlier this month,
Denton c overdue taxes has mailed notices to Jay Anderson, the ci n
ty's assistant director of ti. Residue who of Ow are 06 or older m6q a '
i , 2,619 delinquent uen! t to Tors, pees, said delinquent 4 Ice,
The notices advise del stayers
l cant to t:14overrdue should
tax", that homestead exem lion a Inat tax"ault br safer "By
t overdue taxes to pay fhecity hraerious IncoltectLrgov, flUn ap aifldavl pUsat wW be aue fed p
penalttea and interest or else face We feel that all to Yen iihouid pay their portion by ~ tax asseaser.collector, edor ciilzens may'
N court proceedings, according to a news release from of the tax assessed he Salo, . No one ,
the law firm of Heard fioggan, l141r, llilatns ti atroddd be ddertaxaliononOwirhomesfead, ,
a+ Harrison. ' given a fret ride, Tie law firm that we have hired However, Use overdue taxes willrn+e to'buiidl
this year 110 d* resources to commence and pro. up and must be snBald before the pfbp~ty is x,00.
At of July t, there war a total of $1,8 million In ascots Eawauib (o rccever 1lanes owed ot ~e
delinquent tax, penalty and Interest on the city's tax iave0 lwut$10 noreou 4:161 by ~ who trahsterredtoau vlduat under age offf;, d
roll, df that, $477,116 represents taxpayers who have Delinquent tax rolls Include it penalty of i5 percent tax
ne low firm wUl begin announce lawsuit
d the letier, 9 f
r not been delinquent before and who have gone which is a delinquent
delinquent oil their t t tacos only, pasa•tlurough penalty enacted by the Texan am eases, o"Mue tax ccouela WW be exceeeded '
"H Is the l tMo u 1 to y, Legislature In the. state properly Tax Reform Act. pduty and :
ponsiblllty of all eltusets to s penalty allos the coat of 00110011 % delin the cow! coat and other tees btvolved, ottlclefr
pay taxes to oreserve the quality of We they desire queno es to be passed entirely to the delinquent f
and demand," sold Oliver S, Heard Jr, senior hxpayerandnotborne byeltizensatlargo , lm t6aee carer, taxpayers who don't settle up may i
* ? partner of the statewide Jaw firm, "Citizens who pay Total personal pro rly delinquency, tact taxi wind up being to 's
(heir taxes In a timely manner pe pay court cosh that' y
' can be asswW that
brought against those who do not meet their penally and Inlereal for the city tal7,6MI real behithdr than base W.
action is b r t;
'
reaponslbllittea," property, Million. y, It's in0luding anticipated tha tax, penalty and Interest is $1.t Court casts for lax rusts are at least t2pp ama oea
v 3 t most taxpayers will pay . reach as hlgh as IlM, Heard said,
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