EDWARDSVILLE - Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons announced today the receipt of payment of $291,067.77 in a major settlement of a claim for delinquent sewer service fees, filed on behalf of the Madison County Special Service Area #1 (SSA), marking a victory in the year-long battle against two affiliated companies responsible for three (3) trailer parks.
According to the terms of the settlement secured by the State’s Attorney’s Office, Lakeshore Estates, LLC and Edwards Associates, LLC agreed to pay all past-due charges for sewer service for the trailer parks, some dating back as far as 2015. On February 12th, SSA received payment for the entire amount.
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In November, 2017, Gibbons negotiated an agreement with SSA for the State’s Attorney’s Office to handle all collections of unpaid bills in-house, projecting average annual savings to the public sewer district of around 15 percent, compared to what they had paid over prior years for collection enforcement.
Gibbons said Assistant State’s Attorney Deb Besserman was assigned to the account and after a thorough review of the books and procedures, implemented a streamlined process that resulted in collections of $71,872.70 through 2018. Working with the staff at SSA, Besserman identified and targeted the most delinquent accounts for aggressive enforcement, using her exceptional legal skills and tenacity to secure judgments and liens to protect the district’s ability to collect on the unpaid balances.
In November 2019, upon the departure of Besserman to devote her talents full-time to her burgeoning private practice, Assistant State’s Attorney Tanja Cook Sedabres took over the account and continued the Office’s aggressive collection efforts against the worst offenders. In December (2019), Sedabres secured the settlement with Lakeshore and Edwards - SSA’s biggest delinquent account.
State’s Attorney Gibbons praised the outstanding work of Assistant State’s Attorneys Besserman and Sedabres, as well as the exceptional staff at SSA.
“Working together in this new partnership, SSA and the State’s Attorney’s Office has achieved a major win for taxpayers who, otherwise, would be picking up the bill for continued service for unpaid accounts. This payment represents the culmination of several years’ worth of teamwork by the SSA staff and our office to restore balance to the bottom line of this important public service utility, for the benefit of all taxpayers in Madison County. Our aggressive approach – targeting the worst offenders – is modeled after the approach we take against violent criminals, with resounding success. It’s just another way we can secure Madison County Justice for the Citizens we serve!”
