Jim Thorpe Area School District’s Board of Directors approved an agreement Wednesday night allowing the district to sell its delinquent real estate tax claims in exchange for upfront cash, a move officials say will help improve short-term financial flexibility.

The board approved entering into a “Purchase and Sales Agreement” with Public Asset Management, a third-party company that will buy past delinquent taxes owed to the district for fiscal years ending June 30, 2025, 2026, and 2027.

According to the official resolution, PAM will purchase the tax claims “in exchange for an estimated amount not to exceed that fiscal year’s real estate tax settlement amount.”

In addition to the initial sale, the district will have a “mandatory repurchase obligation” under certain conditions.

The decision follows a March meeting where the board tabled a vote on the same agreement. At that time, Business Manager Brian Off told the board, “I did reach out to other districts who use the service and they have some different opinions of it, so we’re going to do a little more research and make a decision next month.”

At the April meeting, Off described the nature of the agreement.

“This is not a collection company,” he explained. “They take our outstanding receivables, which are delinquent taxes, and they can market (them), then get a loan for that amount, and then they fund us through the loan that they receive.”

Off clarified that “as collections come in through our regular tax collectors, those collections are remitted back to Municipal Revenue Services to pay down their loan.”

The goal, Off said, is to obtain delinquent tax revenue earlier in the fiscal year.

Off told the board that the estimated total loan amount for one year would be “about 500 to $600,000 on the back delinquent taxes.”

Under the agreement, the district will no longer receive penalties and interest on the delinquent taxes, but it will receive an immediate cash influx based on projected collections.

Off further explained that the county and Elite Revenue Solutions would continue to collect the delinquent taxes.

“This is allowing us to basically say we’re owed $1.7 million — we’re not going to collect all of it, but we’re going to get a loan based on some of that money,” Off said. “The county is still collecting, and Elite is still collecting. We’re just getting the loan on our outstanding amount.”

The resolution authorizes district officials to “take any and all actions necessary and required to complete the transactions,” including the execution of all necessary documents, as long as they are approved by legal counsel.