COVENTRY City Council is still trying to claw back council tax debts that have risen to nearly £13million.
The worrying figure obtained by the Times shows that the amount of council tax outstanding is £12.8million – this is after more than £1million of debts were written off in 2009.
And this year’s figure is an increase of £700,000 from last year’s deficit of £12.1million when the deputy leader of the council warned the amount was likely to rise because of the recession.
Cllr Kevin Foster, cabinet member for finance, procurement and value for money, said: “The more money we have the more we can spend on services so it’s important we get it.
“The money collected goes towards helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society, such as children and elderly people.
“It also goes towards the more visible services such as bin collections, roads and parks – all of which people enjoy.
“We knew there would be difficulty in collecting some money, which is why we
reduced our collection target from 98.7 per cent from last year to 98.5 per cent this year.
“But it is important we get as much money in as possible to deliver services.”
If people fail to pay their council tax then dodgers could face bankruptcy proceedings, charging orders or even prison.
But despite these warnings the council wrote off £1.1million last year, an increase on the £900,000 written off from April 2007 to March 2008.
Circumstances such as a person dying and leaving no estate, a person declaring themselves as bankrupt or leaving the city with no trace, means the debt cannot be repaid.
A council spokesman said: “Debts are written off for a variety of reasons.
“In all areas extensive verification is undertaken, for example to chase absconders we use both internal and external sources such as tracing agents.
“When all avenues have been exhausted the debt will be written off, however if the whereabouts of any absconder subsequently comes to light then the debt is re-raised and pursued for payment in full.”
Cllr Foster said new systems to try and detect fraud have also been successful.
He added: “There have been the more memorable instances where we used social-networking site Facebook to catch council tax dodgers.
“Two examples that spring to mind are the woman who said she was living alone when her Facebook page revealed her partner was living with her and a man who was claiming
benefits while enjoying a cruise.
“That aside we also work with other departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions and neighbouring councils to share information.
“Once someone is caught we do all we can to make sure they pay.”
But Cllr Foster said the recession has meant many people have faced losing their jobs or declaring themselves bankrupt, which effects council tax payments.
“Of course there are people who are genuinely struggling with payments and we want to help them,” he said.
“We do this by asking people to contact us and we can sort out weekly payments rather than monthly, see if they are eligible for any benefits to help with other payments and check their payment history.”
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