$12 million of unpaid trash bills to be collected by City of Harrisburg with penalties and interest

By: Sean Guay

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Harrisburg City Council met for a legislative session on Tuesday and heard from City Treasure Dan Miller who answered questions from council member Westburn Majors regarding unpaid bills. Miller explained that Harrisburg is behind on collecting payment of trash bills by more than $12 million because the city has suspended penalties and interest of unpaid bills.

According to the city solicitor when questioned by Majors, the pause on penalties and interest is temporary, and began under the previous mayoral administration during the pandemic as a COVID relief measure. The solicitor said penalties and interest will soon be reinstated, and notice of the change will be sent out with the next utility bill.

Penalties and interest have been suspended for more than two years, and for customers that haven’t made payments during that period, the penalties and interest could soon begin to accumulate on years of unpaid bills.