EAST HARTFORD – The town is looking to crack down on its most delinquent taxpayers by changing the long-held process of collection from tax lien sales to outright tax sales of properties.

Director of Finance Michael P. Walsh has recommended 52 properties totaling over $800,000 in unpaid taxes be the first to fall under the new collection process.

In prior years, East Hartford has used a process that resulted in the sale of tax liens and the foreclosure process to collect delinquent taxes, Walsh said in a letter to Mayor Marcia Leclerc.