A new fee for homeowners who are delinquent on their property taxes is set to be introduced locally.

Lehighton Area School District’s board of directors got its first look earlier this month at a new fee schedule from Portnoff Law Associates, the legal firm that handles its delinquent tax collection, and it now includes a “validation of debt notice” for $25.

According to Kevin Buraks, a managing attorney with the firm, state law was changed in November 2021 requiring the validation as the new first step in the debt collection process.

“We basically send it to the property owner and it gives them a chance to object to the debt,” Buraks said. “We have not been charging property owners for this since it took effect, but we’re going to need to be paid for that going forward.”

The new fee, which is passed on to property owners, will be part of a resolution before Lehighton’s board for approval Monday night.

Portnoff is in its ninth year collecting delinquent real estate taxes for properties in at least one of the municipalities within the district and over that time, Buraks said, the amount of accounts on its list is dwindling dramatically.

“Since the first year we had all of the district’s accounts, which was 2015, we have seen a 40% reduction in the amount of delinquent accounts,” he said. “We’ve collected over $7.8 million for the district.”

The only cost to the district, which is one it eventually gets back if the delinquent account is paid, is for the initial letter to the homeowner and the associated postage to send it.

Over the last nine years, the district fronted around $32,000 for those letters.

Portnoff has been criticized in Lehighton over the last decade, most often by former director David Bradley, for being a predatory agency.

Just last year, Bradley called Portnoff a litigious agency that “hammers down on individuals with financial trouble” and suggested the district look at alternative methods of delinquent tax collection.

If accounts stay delinquent, the process could drag out to the point where the property in question is listed for sale. Buraks said getting to that step, however is rare.

“We sold 19 properties total across the state in 2021,” he said. “It’s rare we get there, but we can’t take that step away or we would have no teeth and we wouldn’t be able to represent districts to help them get their money.”

A large amount of delinquent accounts are paid, Buraks said, before attorney fees are charged.

“We really do try and work with everyone,” Buraks said.

“Many times, we offer flexible payment plans and there is also a hardship program for those who are really struggling to pay.”

Hardship applications are available on Portnoff’s website, https://www.portnoffonline.com.