County celebrates absence of tax deeded properties

SANDPOINT — May 21 was a historic day in Bonner County for what did not happen.

The date marks the first time in 20 years the county did not have to conduct a tax deed hearing to auction properties whose owners fell too far behind on paying their tax bills, said Treasurer Cheryl Piehl.

In the past, as many as 20 properties would be tax deeded annually in Bonner County, but Piehl and her staff have been working on reducing the amount of tax sales. Last year, the treasurer’s office whittled the number down to just two.

This year, zilch.

“We were excited. I’m going to celebrate all year, I think,” said a gleeful Piehl.

The May 21 hearing would have concerned properties with taxes in arrears since 2004.

Piehl said her staff has been able to steer struggling landowners away from tax deeding by working with them.

“We can set them up on payment plans and help them figure out a plan that fits their budget, and help keep them from incurring additional costs,” she said.

Meantime, the assessor’s office makes sure landowners know they could be entitled to exemptions and county commissioners take their financial hardships and circumstances into account to decide whether additional exemptions are warranted.

Piehl said the combined efforts bust the myth that the county is in the business of taking properties.

Had there been any tax deeds in Bonner County this year, they would have been subject to a new state law designed to make sure proceeds from the sales settle more than just tax bills.

Under the old system, proceeds from tax sales would be used to cover the tax bill, late fees, costs and interest. Any overage would be apportioned out to all the other taxing districts applicable to the property.

For instance, if a property had an outstanding tax bill of $1,000 and it auctioned for $20,000, the balance would go to the other taxing districts.

But House Bill 691 enables lien holders, mortgage companies and the property owner who lost the parcel to file a claim to recover profits from the sale, Piehl said.

“They can file a claim with the county to get the overage back. We would still keep our taxes, interest and late fees. The taxing districts would get what’s owed to them,” she said.