The assembly has voted to boost City Hall’s enforcement and collection tools to deal with delinquent sales tax accounts.

The amendments to municipal code, approved unanimously on Aug. 25, authorize “publication of delinquent registered businesses on the borough’s official website,” Finance Director Rob Marshall explained in his report to the assembly.

The website posting would include the business name and delinquency period.

The borough could start posting past-due accounts later this month for businesses delinquent on their sales taxes that were due in April for the first quarter of the year, Marshall said in an email on Sept. 1.

Under the ordinance, the borough is not required to provide additional notice before publishing the name of a delinquent business.

Sales tax is the largest source of revenue for the borough, estimated at about $4 million for the fiscal year that started July 1. Property tax is second, at just over $2.4 million.

City Hall’s books currently show about $60,000 in sales tax delinquencies, Marshall said Sept. 3. “On top of that, we have roughly 61 businesses that are missing remittance reports from the quarter ending June 30 and prior,” he added.

The ordinance, which took effect immediately, also establishes a financial penalty for businesses that fail to provide records or other documents requested during a sales tax examination or audit.

“These changes provide an additional compliance tool intended to encourage timely filing and payment, while improving transparency for the public,” Marshall reported to the assembly.

Under the new code, a business could be fined $500 “for each written request for records or supporting documentation that is not fulfilled within 30 days of notice” during an examination or audit of their sales tax records.

The fine is to enable City Hall to recover the cost of auditing and collecting on delinquent accounts, Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly.

No one from the public testified on the ordinance at the Aug. 25 public hearing. There was no assembly discussion before the vote; members initially reviewed the ordinance at their July 28 meeting.