Visit major defaulters in person

Send trained teams to the largest defaulters to deliver final notices, confirm contact details, request payment, or agree short, recorded payment arrangements. Used selectively, in-person follow-up can unlock large arrears and signal that the city is serious.

• A small number of accounts make up a large share of arrears.

• Paper notices alone are being ignored by high-value defaulters.

• The city can manage staff safety and supervision.

• A clear large-debtor list, officer identification, and visit scripts.

• Strong cash and receipting controls if any on-the-spot payment is allowed.

• Do not use this widely for many small accounts; it is a targeted tool.

• Avoid field visits where staff safety, corruption, or political interference cannot be managed.

This works best when the city is visibly even-handed and starts with the largest, clearest cases. If field visits appear selective or politically influenced, the signal can quickly turn negative.

The full card would help the city plan how to identify priority debtors, organise field visits safely, record outcomes, manage on-the-spot payments if allowed, and decide when to escalate further.

• Track collections and arrears every week

• Use a clear overdue notice ladder

• Register unpaid tax as a charge against the property.

A small number of accounts often represent a large share of total arrears. Where notices and penalties are being ignored, in-person visits can convert those cases faster than treating them like ordinary mass accounts. They also send a visible signal that the city is willing to follow through on serious debt. This tool should remain selective: it works best on clear, high-value cases where the debt is large, the facts are strong, and the visit can be managed safely and professionally.

• A relatively small number of high-value accounts make up a large share of arrears.

• Formal notices alone are being ignored by major debtors.

• The city can manage staff safety, supervision, and the integrity of any field collection or negotiation process.

• Start with a ranked large-debtor list and a small pilot team; do not attempt wide field action on many small debts.

• If on-the-spot payment is risky, make the visit about delivery, verification, and rapid redirection to safe payment channels rather than cash collection.

• Define in advance which visit outcomes count as success: immediate payment, signed arrangement, verified contact update, or formal escalation.

• What threshold makes a debtor worth a visit in your context.

• Whether teams may collect on the spot, or only deliver final demands and agree short, documented arrangements.

• How officers will be paired, supervised, and supported in more sensitive or politically exposed cases.

First 90 days

• Build a large-debtor list using the weekly arrears report and clean the data before teams go into the field.

• Prepare officer IDs, visit scripts, standard forms, and if needed, coordination with security actors or local leadership.

• Brief staff on acceptable conduct, documentation, cash rules if any, and the escalation route for hostile or disputed cases.

6 to 12 months

• Run visits on a pilot set of high-value accounts and review each case outcome promptly.

• Update the account record after each visit so the next step is based on what actually happened, not on stale assumptions.

• Check whether the city is getting more value from payment, better contact information, or faster escalation, and adapt the visit strategy accordingly.

12 to 24 months and beyond

• Institutionalise the approach only for debt tiers where it clearly pays off; keep it selective and data-led.

• Use results from visits to decide which cases need stronger backstops such as tax clearance checks or registry-based action.

• Periodically refresh the large-debtor criteria so field effort remains focused on the most material cases.

• Confirm that officers have legal authority to deliver notices, request information, and, where allowed, receive payments or sign arrangements.

• Where any money may be collected during a visit, the receipting and cash-control rules must be explicit and enforced tightly.

• Clarify how disputes raised in the field should be routed so officers do not promise corrections or waivers beyond their authority.

• The city needs a safe visit protocol, a supervisory chain, and a way to record outcomes immediately.

• Field teams should have access to current account data and clear instructions on what counts as payment, promise, dispute, or refusal.

• Back-office staff must act quickly on the results; a visit loses value if the next formal step is delayed for weeks.

• Poorly supervised visits can create corruption, coercion, or political allegations very quickly.

• If the city uses the tool on many small accounts, staff effort will be diluted and the signal weakened.

• If officers visit weak or disputed cases first, the city may spend political capital without securing meaningful recovery.

• Number and value of large-debtor visits completed.

• Immediate payment or arrangement rate after visits.

• Share of visit outcomes entered into the system within a defined period.

• Revenue recovered or escalated from the top arrears segment.

• Track collections and arrears every week.

• Use a clear overdue notice ladder.

• Register unpaid tax as a charge against the property.

• Which accounts are material enough to justify staff time and political attention?

• Will visits focus on payment, verification, or both?

• What safety and integrity rules must officers follow in the field?

• What happens within one week of a failed visit?