Photo

Click on photo to enlarge

Metro Graphics

Amid a deep recession, worried taxpayers are having difficulties making payments. In Oconee County, almost 7,000 property tax bills are still unpaid as of the March 16 deadline.

WALHALLA — The list of properties on the auction block might increase significantly when Oconee County holds its delinquent tax sale in the fall.

Given Oconee’s 13.8 percent unemployment rate, stagnant wages and the big bite the ongoing recession is taking out of the local economy, county officials anticipated an increase in the number of delinquent tax bills.

Few, however, would have anticipated the almost 15 percent delinquency rate confirmed by the Delinquent Tax Office on Friday.

County Councilman Wayne McCall, who represents District 2 that includes Walhalla, often points to the growing number of properties being lost through delinquent tax sales for his ardent stand against new taxes.

“If you think we need to spend one more cent on a new building, just walk into the Delinquent Tax Office,” McCall said recently. “How can you in good conscience talk about a dream budget with people losing jobs and homes?”

According to county reports, in 2008 there were 5,940 tax bills unpaid by the mid-March deadline. This year, by the March 16 deadline 6,814 tax bills remained unpaid. That’s an increase of 14.7 percent.

Property owners still can get out of arrears by paying their tax bill along with interest, which increases by three percent every three months that go by without full payment made.

The delinquent tax sale in which properties are sold at auction to the highest bidder is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Last year, 402 properties made the delinquent tax sale list. Of those properties on the list, only 35 were redeemed.

According to state law, the defaulting taxpayer, any grantee from the owner, or any mortgage or judgment creditor has one year from the date of the auction sale to pay the taxes with interest owed and redeem the property.

Although the number of unpaid tax bills this year is high, the number was higher in 2007, the year tax bills were sent out after reassessment. There were 6,835 unpaid bills by the mid-March deadline that year.

In 2005, the year before reassessment, the number of tax bills unpaid by the deadline was 4,806. That number has increased by almost 42 percent in 2009.