Banks, credit card companies, and even your local library have profited mightily from a lesson that Fairfax County has yet to learn: people who owe money often pay it late. And then, reluctantly, they’ll pay a late fee.
But parents of students in Fairfax’s school-age child care programs — daycare for before and after school — pay no late fee at all. And, as might be expected without a late fee, some just don’t pay for anything.
According to a recent county audit, Fairfax could collect nearly $400,o00 per year if they charged a 10 percent late fee from delinquent families — and that’s assuming that about half of them change their behavior and start paying on time.
Overall, the county is waiting on about $2.6 million in delinquent charges over the past decade. About $1 million of that has been deemed uncollectable, meaning that scads of families got away with lots of free daycare. This year, the program serves about 10,000 kids in grades K-6 at 135 of the county’s schools.
At a recent audit committee meeting, a representative from the child care program expressed concern that a late fee would mean a 10 percent tuition hike for some of the families living paycheck to paycheck.
Supervisors expressed sympathy, but not a whole lot of it.
“There should be a late payment fee,” said Chairman Sharon Bulova. “There is for everything else that we pay for.”
