Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh convinced scofflaws to cough up nearly $1.5 million in overdue property taxes over the course of four months — by simply sending them a handwritten letter urging them to do so.

Walsh, along with other city staffers, sent out hundreds of handwritten notes to people with tax liens on their homes, advising that they pay up, and explaining the immediate action they must take to avoid more fees and foreclosure, Syracuse.com reported.

Hundreds of people then forked over cash on the taxes they owed, thanks to the letters, which were part of an experimental program drummed up by a pair of researchers at Syracuse University.

Researchers Leonard Lopoo and Joseph Boskovski partnered with the city earlier this year to figure out how to strengthen the city’s tax collection, according to the news outlet.

They found that a handwritten note speaks louder to people.

“Handwriting shows the letter deserves more attention,” said Boskovski, who runs a think-tank at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School called the X Lab, according to Syracuse.com.

The researchers estimate that the technique rang in 57 percent more revenue from tax delinquent home owners than the city would have gotten using traditional printed letters.

Each letter sent as part of the new experiment contained a handwritten message, as well as handwriting on the outside of the envelope.

“It’s the job of the city to collect taxes…but the primary focus here is keeping people in their homes,” Walsh said, according to Syracuse.com. “This is really just another way to make sure we’re keeping people stable in their households.”

With Post Wires