Over the past years, council has been excusing scores of people from paying a $5 annual per capita tax, costing Greenville hundreds of dollars each month.

At council's agenda meeting Tuesday, borough solicitor Joe Joseph of the law firm Douglas and Joseph told council members the only legal exonerations they could make excusing people from the tax were if a person died, moved from the borough or was under the age of 18, according to the town's laws.

According to the Act 47 financial recovery plan, a 100 percent collection rate in the borough would result in $18,670. In 2001, the borough actually collected $16,914, and was projected to collect $13,500 in 2002. The average collection rate on the tax each year is 75 percent, or about $14,000, according to the report. Due to the high costs associated with trying to collect the tax, the plan recommended the per capita tax should be repealed in 2004.

Approval of exonerations was routine council business, council member Pamela Auchter said.