Montville — The Town Council on Monday unanimously backed updates to the town's property tax collection policy to enforce quicker payment and prevent residents from falling more than a year behind.

From now on, the town will no longer wait until after two years of nonpayment to issue warnings to homeowners that attorneys could begin foreclosure proceedings. The amended policy shaves that time frame almost in half, requiring town officials to send speedier demand notices to nonpayers and in some cases deploying state marshals to hammer home the message.

The Finance Committee recommended the updates last month after consulting with Finance Director Theresa Hart and Tax Collector Jerl Casey.

Finance Committee Chairman Wills Pike said the previous policy was "very weak ... and didn't have a lot of teeth to it." He noted the updates were modeled after more efficient systems in Ledyard, Colchester, Griswold, East Lyme and New London.

Pike said Casey, Hart and other officials "feel they can enforce the new policy. It's fair. It's rational and it's the right thing to do at this time for everybody."

Several officials say while the changes will inspire more timely payment, it will also help many residents in the long run.

"When taxpayers get behind, it just becomes more and more of a struggle," Casey said Monday, noting delinquent taxpayers are hit with up to an 18 percent interest rate. "It makes it harder for them to catch up. This (policy) helps nip it in the bud and smooths out the whole process."

Town Council Chairman Tom McNally said "the shorter time frame helps people get control of it. With interest and fees, it spirals out of control."

The policy hadn't been significantly updated in almost a decade, officials said. In the meantime, delinquent taxes have racked up: in real estate alone, about $1.9 million is owed to the town going back to 2002, Casey said.  

Town Councilor Joe Jaskiewicz noted when the previous policy was established several years ago, some residents complained that foreclosing after two years was "too tough on people."

"We had (no policy) before," he said. "But times change. It doesn't mean we didn't try to collect taxes."

The tax collector sends initial delinquency notices every Aug. 10, six weeks after annual tax bills are due. According to the updated policy, the finance director will now issue a follow-up delinquency letter to nonpaying residents by November 1.

If they don't pay by the following February, "that's when the state marshal's going to get involved," Hart said. The state marshals, who are paid by tacking 15 percent fees onto the tax bills, will deliver letters and copies of tax warrants to delinquent homeowners, sometimes in person.

If a homeowner still has not paid by May 1 — 10 months after the tax bill was initially due and after warnings of an impending lien — the town will place a lien on the property and move toward selling it in a tax auction in July.

The town's most recent tax auction was in 2012; it's only held a handful of them since 2008, Hart said.

Even if the updated policy leads to a few more foreclosures and using the town attorney to ensure tax auctions run smoothly, more efficient collections overall would help negate attorney fees, several officials said.

McNally noted that in New London and elsewhere, as annual tax auctions approach, the list of delinquent properties dwindles as people turn up to pay their taxes.

b.kail@theday.com