Quality-Of-Life Amnesty Programs Pay Off For Reading

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

With finally final figures, the city announced Monday that it will gain $628,563 from Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer’s amnesty program for long-overdue quality-of-life tickets and rental-housing fees.

That’s after quietly keeping the program open for an extra month, which gained the city more than another $17,000.

Spencer had announced last fall that the amnesty would run two months, from Dec. 17 to Feb. 15.

The sweetener was that late fees would be waived; the threat was that those who ignored the offer would be turned over to a bill collector, who would add a 15 percent penalty.

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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