OUTSOURCING OR SELLING COUNTY DEBT

Board of County Commissioners · 2026-07-21 · report

The document is a report on the feasibility of outsourcing or selling County debt, not a construction or development project. It was accepted by the Board of County Commissioners on 7/21/2026. The report identifies approximately $525 million in outstanding County debt as of 7/29/2025, of which almost $41 million gross (8%) could be considered for sale to third-party collection agencies or receivables buyers. The report recommends the Board consider the sale of a portion, not its totality, of the outstanding debt portfolio. The report is in response to Resolution R-785-25, sponsored by Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, and adopted by the Board on 7/16/2025. The report includes an analysis of debt types and amounts, potential buyers and market, and estimated recovery rates and financial implications. The report notes that the other 92% is not recommended for sale due to compliance components, HIPAA data protection, and potential legal risks under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The report also notes that the County has previous experience with awarding contracts to Outside Collections Agencies in 2003, with a pool of contractors including Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP, Alliance One Receivables Management, Inc., Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc., Collectco, Inc., and Penn Credit Corp. The report states that the sale of debt may provide short term cash flow but would sever access to historical and real-time data, undermining the County's ability to support constituents directly. The report also states that CCS has almost $17 million average annual collections on recurring balance. The report was introduced on 6/15/2026, and the final action was on 7/21/2026. The document does not state a specific street address, parcel, acreage, or number of units. The document does not state any public comment or stakeholder sentiment.