Lehighton Area School District’s finance committee reviewed three budgets Monday night that will soon go before the full board of directors for a vote.

The district stands to pay $234,533 to Lehigh Carbon Community College in 2021-22 between its operating budget and debt service responsibilities. It represents a $586 increase over the current year.

“It is well worth the price,” Lehighton Treasurer Rita Spinelli said during the meeting.

For the 2021-22 Carbon Career and Technical Institute budget, Lehighton’s budgeted cost share is $1.34 million, down $34,260 from $1.38 million this year.

Lehighton has an estimated contribution of $25,220 to the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit budget. Business Administrator Edward Rarick said the district is also projected to use $1.51 million on services and programs provided by the Intermediate Unit, such as behavioral and emotional support. A full cost breakdown is available on the district’s website.

Rarick also updated the committee on the status of delinquent real estate tax collection efforts by Portnoff Law Associates.

“Right now there are 564 files in the system, representing $864,189,” he said. “Of that, $448,760 has been recovered as of Dec. 31. “

Of 490 collectible files, 77 are part of a payment plan, 160 are in the legal process and 253 have been paid in full. There are four properties in bankruptcy, 44 files have been closed due to low value or low placement balance, 17 have sale results pending and 3 properties are in the repository.

A document on the district website breaks down the collection files by municipality. East Penn Township has 185 files followed by Mahoning Township with 113, Franklin Township with 112, Lehighton Borough with 104, Parryville Borough with 27 and Weissport Borough with 23.

Lehighton Director David Bradley called Portnoff a litigious agency that “hammers down on individuals with financial trouble.”

“In the event they do not pay, added to their burden is additional litigation,” Bradley said. “These are the people you don’t want to add extra fees on. If they walk away from their home, we are out years of tax revenue.”