Wollongong council's finance manager has asked councillors to write off seven outstanding "bad debts" to the council totaling about $40,000.
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In a report to Monday's meeting, Brian Jenkins said pursuing these debts further would be uneconomical.
The largest debt is $14,063, owed by the previous tenant of the Cliffhangar Cafe at Bulli Tops.
The council says the debtor does not own property within the Wollongong local government area and that the Australian Business Number linked with the account gives no current contact details.
At a recent meeting, councillors voted unanimously to give the lease of the Bulli Tops venue to RDS Investments - which runs Panorama House - after the lease was terminated in May 2017, due to the previous tenants' failure to pay rent.
"For the 18 months prior to the termination of the lease, the tenant was in arrears and receiving monthly reminder letters from Council’s Accounts Receivable Section," a council report from May said.
The council has not named this tenant.
The second largest debt slated to be written off next Monday was for of $6,526 and related to the reimbursement of rates and charges at the Whytes Gully tip site.
Other debts include $8800 for two lots of annual site fees at Corrimal Beach tourist park, and a $4,483 charge for clearing land at Dapto.
During the time the “bad debts” have been unpaid, the council has issued $325 million worth of other invoices, Mr Jenkins' report says.
“All reasonable recovery actions have been undertaken by council to secure payment of the listed debts,” he said. “It would be uneconomical and an inefficient use of council resources to continue to pursue these debts.”