Just half a million dollars to go: As of April 1, $542,000 was all Habersham County had left in outstanding property tax collections for the current fiscal year. “We are 98% collected and that’s huge,” says Habersham County Tax Commissioner June Black.
Habersham County has 25,821 personal and real property owners. The current total tax digest is $24,969,000. Of that, more than $24.4 million has been collected. “Really, in the whole scheme of things, we are really in good shape as far as tax collections go,” Black says. “Habersham County is in excellent shape!”
While the high tax collection rate may partially be attributed to a strengthening economy – more people working, fewer foreclosures and bankruptcies – Black also attributes it to her hard-working staff and procedures her office has implemented over the past several years. Those procedures include mailing property tax bills earlier in the year (in August before the December 22 deadline) and mail and phone call follow-ups with taxpayers who don’t pay their bills. Online services also help. Black set it up several years ago so that Habersham County taxes can be paid online. In addition, tax officials work closely with property owners on payment plans if they’re unable to pay their tax bills in lump sums. Delinquency due to unemployment, bankruptcy or other financial hardships is considered and Black says her office is willing to work with taxpayers to help them “get back on their feet,” noting, “It’s easier to come up with $50 a month than $300 at one time.”
Not everyone has taken advantage of those service options. Of Habersham County’s 623 delinquent taxpayers, 200 now find themselves at risk of losing their property. The Habersham County Tax Commissioner’s Office turned over the first delinquent list – high to low – to Appalachian Mountain Services (AMS) on April 1 for a tax sale. That sale is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, outside the Habersham County Judicial Center at 295 Llewellyn Street.
“Tax sales are a very intricate selling process,” Black explains. “You don’t just get anybody to do these tax sales. You get someone familiar with the process and turn it over to them.” She says her office chooses to work with AMS because they have a similar philosophy about helping people. “They’re not pushing us to say ‘Hey, you need to sell this.'” Tax officials have some discretion in which properties go up for sale. “We pull the files because we know our taxpayers. We’re not going to add unnecessary fees to anyone’s taxes,” says Black.
Once property is targeted for a tax sale and handed over to AMS, there is an automatic $300 fee attached to the bill to help pay for title searches and other research. A property owner seeking to get his/her property off the list must pay that $300 fee along with their back taxes, accrued interest and penalties before they can reclaim full title to their property.
Those who haven’t paid their taxes in two years and haven’t attempted to make payments are certain to find themselves on the tax sale list. “If you have a past due year, you’re automatically on the list. We can’t let them do that,” Black explains. “They have to comply with the law.” Lists are submitted high to low so, the more owed in delinquent taxes, the more likely it is that the property will be sent up for sale.
Pre-planning already is underway for a second tax sale in either July or August.
Black says of the county’s 623 delinquent taxpayers 104 owe less than $100. She says her office is working to clear up those accounts through phone calls. “We’re going to contact these and, hopefully, they can give us a credit card and let us get this off the list.”
For more information on delinquent tax collections and tax sales, contact the Habersham County Tax Commission Office at 706-839-0120 or visit them online at https://www.habershamga.com/taxcommissioner.cfm
