City Of Reading Amnesty Nets $351,000 In Fees And Fines So Far

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With less than two weeks left to go, the city’s amnesty program for overdue rental housing fees and quality-of-life fines has reached $351,000, or about 70 percent of its goal, codes manager Ron Natale said Monday.

The offer that began in mid-December ends Feb. 15, and property owners who don’t contact the city by then will be turned over to its new collection firm, Harrisburg-based National Recovery Agency, Natale told City Council.

The city has about $2.8 million in delinquent quality-of-life fines and rental housing fees from 22,000 unpaid bills.  Officials had hoped to collect about $500,000 of that with the amnesty program, which waives penalties and late fees if the property owners pay the original amounts.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=450373

Reading Codes Officer’s Residency Was At Issue

Reading codes manager Ron Natale is violating the city charter because he has not moved into the city within the required year of taking office, according to an investigator for the city Charter Board that enforces such rules.

However, despite the investigator’s official findings, which put the case into the board’s hands for a final ruling, a new investigator closed the probe.

And, the Charter Board’s confidentiality rules prevent anyone from explaining why.

Charter Board rulings have led to the firing of prior codes manager Jatinder Khokar and the transfer of Adam Mukerji, former community development director, to the Reading Redevelopment Authority.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=442291