The committee received a presentation from Sheila White, the city’s director of finance, about a temporary 10-day grace period before penalty and interest are applied to various bills because city offices were closed during a state of emergency. The grace period covers real estate tax bills due Jan. 14, business and other tax bills, utility bills and payment plans, parking tickets, and other fines or fees that would have been collected during the closure.

White said the city also paused collection activity via third-party collection agencies (TACS and Bellotto Law Firm) during the grace period. If taxpayers do not pay within the 10 days, penalty and interest will be applied retroactive to the original due date per city code. The committee requested follow-up information on the finance department's organizational chart, employee additions, and the status of previously requested data on business tax case closures; staff agreed to provide that information for the committee’s next meeting in February.

Committee members expressed that the grace period was appropriate in light of the emergency-related office closures and asked staff to return with the previously requested organizational and case-status information.