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Delinquent tax list in this week's paper A list of delinquent property taxes are being advertised in this issue of The Democrat and will continue for two more weeks until the May 1 sale date. Ad valorem- or property- taxes are due each Oct. 1 and become delinquent Dec. 31. The Clarke County Revenue Commissioner's office is responsible for real and personal property appraisals and taxes and their collections. Chris Beverly was recently appointed revenue commissioner to succeed Jay Duke who ran for and was elected circuit clerk. Beverly has been an appraiser in the county for over two decades. The revenue commission office sends out tax notices around Oct. 1 each year although Beverly said the law does not specify that notices be sent. Property taxes are paid in arrears, that is for the past fiscal year. Taxes paid in 2006, for example, are for the tax period starting Oct. 1, 2005 and ending Sept. 30, 2006. Taxes are assessed against the property owner as of Oct. 1 of the tax year. If someone owns property on Oct. 1 but sold it on Oct. 2, they would need to make sure that the new owner paid the tax bill. Before notices are mailed, the appraisal department has been busy looking at properties and structures to determine their values. This is called assessments or reassessments. Property is now reassessed annually. It was once reassessed only every four years. Some are pushing for a return to that. Property owners are informed of new assessments and they have the right to contest the change. Contests must be filed within 10 days of the date of the notice and are usually worked out in informal meetings with appraisers and/or the revenue commissioner. There is an appeals board though, that hears cases that can't be settled. The Board of Equalization is made up of three appointed citizens who hear disputes and make determinations. If the property owner still doesn't like the decision, the matter can be appealed to circuit court. That has happened only a few times. A current appeal by Boise for values assessed on its Jackson paper mill has drawn a lot of publicity because of the large amount of taxes involved. Property owners who do not pay their taxes by Dec. 31 are notified soon afterwards that their taxes are past due. A $5 late charge is added and 12 percent annual interest- one percent a month- is assessed. Revenue commission employees continue to try to track down the tardy taxpayers. The Probate Court then enters the picture and sends tax notices to the individual property owners. A court hearing is set for 10 days after the notices are mailed. Tax bills not resolved in probate court are then advertised for three consecutive weeks. If the bill is not paid during the three-week period, the property is put up for auction on the courthouse steps. The date for this year's sale is May 1. The high bidder wins the property in question and is responsible for paying the tax and cost as listed on the ad. Beverly said his office is only interested in the back taxes, interest, late fees and other costs. Any excess paid for the property goes into a special account with the Clarke County Commission. The individual, business or group losing their property at auction has three years to redeem the property by paying all back taxes, fees and other costs, including the 12 percent interest on the taxes and on any excess bid amount.
If the property is not redeemed, the winning bidder can exchange their certificate of sale for a tax deed.
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