With more than $600,000 in unpaid taxes on the books and no reliable way to collect them in place, Westport treasurer and tax collector Susan Brayton will present an article at this year's Town Meeting requesting recurring funds to help the town beef up its collection efforts.

Brayton told the finance committee recently that in some cases, the money — currently at a collective $618,490.63 — has sat on the books for years. However, she said she currently has very few means of collecting it. The article she plans to present seeks $10,000 per year to pay for tax and title attorneys, as well as other means, to make collection easier.

The last time the town took a comprehensive action to resolve tax delinquencies was in 2010, when Westport sold a group of tax liens to a private firm. With Westport facing a tough budget year, presenting an article could give the town renewed teeth, some finance committee members said.

"It's going to take a little bit of money, but it's a revolving account that I'm looking for," Brayton said. "I don't really get anything in the budget (currently) to fight that. There's a few people ... that are on the list that just don't bother paying their taxes every year."

During her presentation to the finance committee, member Gary Carreiro said he supports the article and other means of recouping outstanding taxes, including sending out foreclosure letters and contacting attorneys.

"The concern I have (is) we put little towards recouping a good sum of money," he said. "Not only are we not recouping that tax, that is also getting hit against our free cash as a liability, every year."

"So in order for us to start recouping those back taxes we should probably put a little bit more into fighting those back taxes and collecting those."

Though member Hugh Morton urged pursuing such actions "carefully," Carreiro said spending a little to beef up recouping efforts makes financial sense.

"If we bring in $100,000, that's $100,000 we don't have," he said.

Speaking of longstanding debts to the town, some of which have sat there for eight, 10 years or more, he said:

"Why would we let that kind of delinquency sit on the books for eight years? We want taxes paid, we want those off the rolls, the taxes paid, and we move forward."

Top 10 tax delinquencies

The following is a list of the top 10 tax delinquencies in Westport, ranked by dollar amount, before interest. In all, there are currently $618,490.63 in tax delinquencies owed across town, according to information provided by Westport treasurer and tax collector Susan Brayton. For the full list, click here.

1. Francis T. Meagher estate: $68,986.46. Added to list April 11, 2013.

2. Gabriel F. DaCruz: $38,412.42. Added to list June 19, 2015.

3. John W., Bettina A. and Robert H. Briggs Jr.: $35,015.17. Added to list June 19, 2015.

4. Irene Medeiros: $29,648.99. Added to list May 15, 2014.

5. Debra A. and Norman R. McCarthy, $23,893.34. Added to list June 29, 2009.

6. Eve M. Leach, trustee: $22,476.41. Added to list June 25, 2018.

7. Ann Elizabeth Briggs: $21,996.20. Added to list June 19, 2015.

8. Wayne Kirby and Veronica and Alden Kirby: $21,832.75. Added to list June 30, 2011.

9. Marten F. Bird: $20,917.81. Added to list April 11, 2013.

10. Bettina A. Briggs,John W. Briggs and Robert H. Briggs Jr.: $20,625.62. Added to list June 19, 2015.