East Haven Goes After Tax Scofflaws In Major Crackdown

EAST HAVEN, CT - The town has collected about $160,000 in motor vehicle, real estate and personal property back taxes over the past several months as it moves to crack down on those delinquent in paying their bills, town officials report.

At the May meeting of the Board of Finance, officials told finance members the town is owed $250,000 in just delinquent auto accounts.

The town has hired a collection agency to start aggressively go after the money it is owed.

East Haven Tax Collector Lucille Huelin said her department has also been working "with the mayor's office and the attorney's office to increase the delinquent real estate accounts and made a big effort in pushing personal property this year."

She added that "our marshals have been doing bank executions which we have never done before. We have sent some of the delinquent personal property to our collection agencies."

Huelin said the department "used to give everyone the benefit of the doubt" but those days are over as the town needs ever nickel it can take in.