Pennsylvania city renews debt collection contract

In order to ensure the city's debt is properly handled, Williamsport, Pennsylvania's city council recently voted to receive help from collections, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports. The company being used - Berwick-based Central Tax Bureau of Pennsylvania (CENTAX) - is the same firm that the city has utilized for the past 10 years. According to city treasurer Thomas P. O'Connor, the firm will once again be signed to a one-year contract. The news source notes in a separate article that Williamsport hopes to collect taxes from natural gas-related companies that are moving to the city. This time around, CENTAX has agreed to cut its billing fee to 1.5 percent from its typical 1.75 percent for mercantile and business privileges and 2 percent for local taxes. "Before, if the local service tax collection was $100,000, they would charge us $2,000," O'Connor told the news source. "This year, it will be $1,500." In addition, CENTAX plans to hire a part-time treasurer's office worker to cross check its efforts.