To the editor:

I may not be a certified public accountant but something is fishy in the city’s accounting office, even though it has been audited and awarded a “gold standard” decoration because of budgetary savings and expenditures, according to “Audit reveals strong accounting at City Hall,” in the November 22 edition of the Times.

Another article on the same page (“Not paying the piper’) tells us that “taxpayers owe $10.5 million in delinquent taxes.” Is the city keeping two sets of books?

Actually not “paying the piper” doesn’t go far enough. I would like to see a list of the citizens and businesses that have been flouting the law so that I can personally thank them every time my taxes and fees rise for real estate, trash pickup, and the privilege of parking on the street where I live.

If the city did its job in collecting these delinquent accounts, perhaps there would not be a need to raise taxes and fees. Why doesn’t the article address how, why, and when the city attempts to collect these taxes — that is, if it actually makes an attempt?

I think the law abiding, tax-paying citizens of this city have a right to know this information.

– Florence Foelak
Alexandria