Town considering debt recovery service

  It is becoming more common for local governments to hire a debt collection agency to recover past due bills owed to the town. In March, town officials in Smithfield, North Carolina, had to rely on an agency for utility bills. Now, the neighboring town of Selma is considering the same path. The Selma News reported that the town's government officials, after dealing with years of overdue utility bills totaling almost $500,000, has indicated that they're thinking about hiring TekCollect, the same agency hired by nearby Smithfield, Little Washington and LaGrange. When Smithfield hired the company, the Smithfield Herald said, the town was able to make a profit because of the fees charged to the overdue bill payer. The proposal for the service to Selma will be discussed at a town meeting on April 10. TekCollect, with its specialization of helping local governments, has guaranteed the local officials that, if hired, it will collect on at least 500 of the 1,200 delinquent accounts, or town leaders can reclaim the proposed advance of $13,000, the Selma News claimed. The source said debts from 500 delinquent accounts should collectively average $190,000.