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At least 241 of Juneau's 3,700 registered businesses - or about 7 percent - are delinquent in paying their city sales tax.

But eventually city collectors will catch up with most of them, City Attorney John Hartle said.

"We're slow but certain," Hartle said. "We may not get to a person for a while, but sooner or later we will. And we don't go away."

Of those businesses that are delinquent, 48 have filed but haven't paid and 19 are behind on a repayment plan. Money owed in these two categories ranges from $108 to $77,000 and adds up to more than $440,000, according to Joan Roomsburg, city sales tax administrator.

The remaining 174 of the 241 have not filed, so the city doesn't know how much they owe, she said.

For fiscal year 2007, the city predicted it would collect $384,000 in penalties and interest on sales tax, property tax and local improvement districts, but it actually collected $752,000, according to its 2007 annual report.

Total sales tax revenue for that year was $38.6 million.

Each quarter, the city lists in this newspaper businesses that are delinquent in their sales taxes. That list isn't a public notice required by law, but a collection tool - embarrassment - which is "very effective," Roomsburg said.

By the time the list is published, the city already has sent at least two "past due" letters to those who are delinquent.

People regularly come in right before the ad is published to pay themselves out of it, Hartle said.

Local and out-of-state businesses are listed, as are some that have been closed for months or years.

How much a business pays is confidential unless it's in delinquency, according to city code.

A Finance Department policy gives Roomsburg the discretion to take people off the public list if they come into her office and explain how they'll make good on their debts.

"It's the situation where people don't call and don't want to talk to you that things get difficult back here," said Rachel Stauffer, city revenue collector.

That's when the city resorts to gradually tougher tactics to get its money back. If mail is returned or she can't find the merchant, Stauffer will send a collection agency.

For amounts less than $10,000, if the merchant is in town, Stauffer can file a suit in small claims court. With a judgment against the merchant, the city can garnish a person's wages or Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, or sweep bank accounts for the amount owed. It also can put liens on business property.

For amounts of more than $10,000, city lawyers start with a civil suit. If a civil judgment in their favor doesn't get them their money, they'll press criminal charges for failure to pay taxes or to file, both misdemeanors.

Sales tax delinquency survives bankruptcies. The city sued Boarderline, an Anchorage-based board shop with a Juneau store, registered to Scott Liska of Anchorage. The lawsuit was delayed when Boarderline filed for bankruptcy.

"They're about to get a letter that reminds them we're still here," Hartle said.

The owner could not be reached for comment.

The majority of civil cases are uncontested by defendants, Hartle said. At the moment the city has one other pending civil suit, filed last November against David and Jeannine Bonk, owners of Pel' Meni, a downtown dumpling shop. At one point they owed $61,000, Hartle said. The current delinquency list reports Pel' Meni as owing $8,626 in back taxes.

The Bonks could not be reached by phone.

One delinquency turned into a criminal case that went to trial last year. Pat Peterson paid his city tax debt for P P's Douglas Inn several days before the trial started.

The city went through with it because the purpose of the prosecution is not just to get the city's money, but also to dissuade the defendant and other merchants from ever committing the same crime, Hartle said.

A jury found Peterson guilty of failing to file his sales taxes, but not guilty of failing to pay.

A judge put Peterson on probation, according to court records. He also fulfilled community service by playing Santa Claus at a Gastineau Human Services Christmas party, he said.

Peterson said he sometimes has not paid his sales tax on time, partly because he finds paperwork troublesome and partly because profits have been slim and seasonal.

"I guess I'm a bad guy, but mostly I'm just late," he said. "And I pay a lot of extra money for being late."

Peterson has paid more than $50,000 just in penalties and interest, he said.

Peterson wondered why the city bothered with drawn-out criminal proceedings, when it could get its money more quickly by filing a protest on his liquor license.

"Are they going to put you in jail? No," he said. "Mostly they just want their money."

• Contact reporter Kate Golden at 523-2276 or e-mail kate.golden@juneauempire.com.