VERGENNES — Faced with an almost 100 percent increase in the amount of delinquent taxes from the same time as 2018, the Vergennes City Council at its Oct. 22 meeting approved the use of agreements that will allow property owners behind on their bills to make payments on installment plans.
City Manager Matt Chabot said the amount owed the city by delinquent taxpayers now stands at a little more than $39,000, compared to about $21,000 a year ago.
Council members unanimously approved a flexible template that would allow delinquent taxpayers to sign and date a document called the “City of Vergennes Property Tax Payment Agreement Form,” on which they can pledge to pay a set amount of money on regular, to be determined, intervals to make good on their obligations to the city.
Chabot said by state law those payments would include an 8 percent penalty on any amount of taxes overdue by a year or more.
Previously, the only option for those behind on their taxes was to make a lump-sum payment. Chabot told the council he believes this approach should be not only more productive, but also kinder.
“We think this is an opportunity to give people a way out,” he said.
In response to a question from a council member, Chabot said he believed the approach has been effective elsewhere.
Chabot also said it would help both the taxpayers and the city if officials could establish a connection with them.
“It personalizes the relationship between ourselves and the people who are struggling,” he said.
Chabot said the tactic would not help with all the debt — one party is now responsible for about a quarter of the total delinquency, and he said the city might be ready to take action in that case.
It’s unclear how many Vermont communities offer such formal agreements. According to Vermont League of Cities and Towns Executive Director Maura Carroll, VLCT makes available such a model agreement to its member municipalities, but does not track how many towns use them.
In an email Carroll confirmed they are legal.
“Vermont Supreme Court cases have specifically held that municipal officials can make the decision whether to accept partial payments from a delinquent taxpayer,” she wrote.