Metro Bank today filed a nearly $52,000 mortgage foreclosure action against Harrisburg Mayor Linda D. Thompson in Dauphin County Court.

The complaint targets a property Thompson owns at 2320 N. Fifth St. in the city. It is the former headquarters of Loveship, a nonprofit agency that counseled residents on their mortgages.

Thompson founded and ran the company before being elected mayor in 2009. She put it on hold when she was elected.



Thompson doesn’t live in that property.

UPDATE: Thompson spokesman Robert Philbin said the mayor was "surprised" by the foreclosure.

He said she is contacting the bank to try to resolve the issue. “This is a personal matter and has no bearing on the mayor’s office,” Philbin said.

According to court filings, Thompson secured a $60,000 mortgage on the North Fifth Street property in January 2007. Metro Bank claims she stopped paying on the mortgage in mid-September. It is seeking a total of $51,937 in principal and penalties, plus interest at a rate of $9.95 a day.

If the foreclosure action is granted by the court, the property would be listed for a sheriff’s sale. Thompson could avert that by negotiating a settlement with the bank.

According to the county tax claim bureau, the mayor also remains delinquent on her 2010 school district real estate taxes for the North Fifth Street building. She is listed as owing $1,086 on that bill and had not made a payment on it since May.

When questioned about that delinquent tax bill in May, Thompson said she would make a good faith effort to pay it.

Harrisburg has been taken over by the state because of its financial problems.