82 tax debtors pay up after names are printed

Nearly 14% of the county’s delinquent property taxes — a total of $78,012.30 — was paid after a list of delinquent taxpayers was published last month.

Whether they were embarrassed to be included or simply needed a reminder, 82 delinquent owners went to the treasurer’s office and paid overdue taxes, plus the cost of printing after their names, addresses, and how much they owed appeared in the paper in August.

Their properties were removed from a list of parcels that could end up sold at a tax sale. That reduced the number that could be auctioned off from 627 to 545.

This year’s list of delinquent real estate taxes was a record $574,254.93, up 11.5% from 2023. That’s equivalent to 3 mills countywide.

“Publishing the list is a statutory requirement and a critical step in the process of notifying taxpayers of outstanding tax liabilities,” Treasurer Tina Groening said. “This requirement is particularly important if the property enters the tax sale process, as it demonstrates that all reasonable efforts were made to inform the taxpayer of the delinquency.”