HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-19-2021; 8-e - Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: January 19, 2021
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-e
SUBJECT: Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property
DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
1) Order of the Board of County Nancy T. Freeman, Tax Administrator,
Commissioners in Accordance with (919) 245-2735
NCGS 105-369
2) Advertisement Headers
3) List of Unpaid 2020 Taxes: On File in
the Clerk to the Board of
Commissioners' Office
PURPOSE: To report the amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens on real
property as required by North Carolina General Statute 105-369 and to request March 31, 2021
as the date set by the Board for the tax lien advertisement.
BACKGROUND: North Carolina General Statute 105-369 requires the Tax Administrator to
report to the governing board the total amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens
on real property. This report is available in the Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners' office.
Upon receipt of this report, the governing board must order and set a date for the lien
advertisement. Tax liens may be advertised any time between March 1 and June 30. All properties
that were sold during the year of 2020 will be advertised in the new owners' names.
The process includes that a notice alerting property owners to the pending advertisement must
be mailed at least 30 days in advance of the date of advertisement. This mailed notice will state
that the last day to pay 2020 taxes in order to avoid being advertised is March 10, 2021. Between
the mailed notice and the advertised notice, property owners are advised that collection efforts
are underway. North Carolina General Statute 105-369 mandates both these notices.
The Tax Administrator will post the list of advertised delinquent property owners, using the same
information and a similar format, on the Tax Office website. There will be a link on the Tax Office
home page to view the list of advertised delinquent property owners:
http://www.orangecountVnc.gov/728/Tax-Administration. The list will be posted on the same date
as the list will be advertised in the newspapers and remain posted for 30 days.
In most years, the Tax Administrator requests that the Board approve a date in mid-March for the
tax lien advertisement. Due to the pandemic, staff is requesting a later date of March 31, 2021 to
extend the amount of time that a taxpayer has in order to pay their tax bill before it is advertised.
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North Carolina General Statute 105-369 (d) requires the Tax Administrator to determine the actual
cost of the advertisement and to set a fee to cover the actual costs. The cost for advertisement
will be $5.75 per parcel to cover the costs to advertise all tax liens in The News of Orange and
The Herald Sun.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There will be no net financial impact to the County.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no Orange County Social Justice Goal impact associated
with this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal
impact associated with this item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board accept the report and
approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Order setting the lien sale advertisement date for
March 31, 2021.
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Attachment 1
ORDER OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
IN ACCORDANCE WITH G.S. 105-369
State of North Carolina
County of Orange
To: Nancy T. Freeman, Tax Collector of Orange County
You are hereby authorized, empowered, and commanded to advertise tax liens on
real property for failure to pay 2020 taxes. You shall advertise said liens by posting a notice
of the liens at the county courthouse and by publishing each lien at least one time in one or
more newspapers having general circulation in the taxing unit. Advertisement of the tax
liens shall be made on Wednesday,March 31,2021.
This order shall be a full and sufficient authority to direct,require, and enable you to
advertise said tax liens in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-369.
Witness my hand and official seal,this
Renee Price
Chair,Board of County Commissioners
Attest:
Lauran Jensen
Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners
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NCGS § 105-369. Advertisement of tax liens on real property for failure to pay
taxes.
(a) Report of Unpaid Taxes That Are Liens on Real Property. - In February of each
year, the tax collector must report to the governing body the total amount of
unpaid taxes for the current fiscal year that are liens on real property. A county
tax collector's report is due the first Monday in February, and a municipal tax
collector's report is due the second Monday in February. Upon receipt of the
report, the governing body must order the tax collector to advertise the tax
liens. For purposes of this section, district taxes collected by county tax
collectors shall be regarded as county taxes and district taxes collected by
municipal tax collectors shall be regarded as municipal taxes.
(b) Repealed by Session Laws 1983 (Regular Session, 1984), c. 1013.
(b1) Notice to Owner. -After the governing body orders the tax collector to
advertise the tax liens, the tax collector must send a notice to the record owner of
each affected parcel of property, as determined as of the date the taxes became
delinquent. The notice must be sent to the owner's last known address by first-class
mail at least 30 days before the date the advertisement is to be published. The
notice must state the principal amount of unpaid taxes that are a lien on the parcel
to be advertised and inform the owner that the name of the record owner as of the
date the taxes became delinquent will appear in a newspaper advertisement of
delinquent taxes if the taxes are not paid before the publication date. Failure to
mail the notice required by this section to the correct record owner does not affect
the validity of the tax lien or of any foreclosure action.
(c) Time and Contents of Advertisement. -A tax collector's failure to comply with
this subsection does not affect the validity of the taxes or tax liens. The county tax
collector shall advertise county tax liens by posting a notice of the liens at the
county courthouse and by publishing each lien at least one time in one or more
newspapers having general circulation in the taxing unit. The municipal tax collector
shall advertise municipal tax liens by posting a notice of the liens at the city or town
hall and by publishing each lien at least one time in one or more newspapers having
general circulation in the taxing unit. Advertisements of tax liens shall be made
during the period March 1 through June 30. The costs of newspaper advertising
shall be paid by the taxing unit. If the taxes of two or more taxing units are collected
by the same tax collector, the tax liens of each unit shall be advertised separately
unless, under the provisions of a special act or contractual agreement between the
taxing units,joint advertisement is permitted.
The posted notice and newspaper advertisement shall set forth the following
information:
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(1) Repealed by Session Laws 2006-106, s. 2, effective for taxes imposed for taxable
years beginning on or after July 1, 2006.
(1a) The name of the record owner as of the date the taxes became delinquent for
each parcel on which the taxing unit has a lien for unpaid taxes, in alphabetical
order.
(1b) After the information required by subdivision (1a) of this subsection for each
parcel, a brief description of each parcel of land to which a lien has attached and a
statement of the principal amount of the taxes constituting a lien against the parcel.
(2) A statement that the amounts advertised will be increased by interest and costs
and that the omission of interest and costs from the amounts advertised will not
constitute waiver of the taxing unit's claim for those items.
(3) In the event the list of tax liens has been divided for purposes of advertisement
in more than one newspaper, a statement of the names of all newspapers in which
advertisements will appear and the dates on which they will be published.
(4) A statement that the taxing unit may foreclose the tax liens and sell the real
property subject to the liens in satisfaction of its claim for taxes.
(d) Costs. - Each parcel of real property advertised pursuant to this section shall be
assessed an advertising fee to cover the actual cost of the advertisement. Actual
advertising costs per parcel shall be determined by the tax collector on any
reasonable basis. Advertising costs assessed pursuant to this subsection are taxes.
(e) Payments during Advertising Period. -At any time during the advertisement
period, any parcel may be withdrawn from the list by payment of the taxes plus
interest that has accrued to the time of payment and a proportionate part of the
advertising fee to be determined by the tax collector. Thereafter, the tax collector
shall delete that parcel from any subsequent advertisement, but the tax collector is
not liable for failure to make the deletion.
(f) Listing and Advertising in Wrong Name. - No tax lien is void because the real
property to which the lien attached was listed or advertised in the name of a person
other than the person in whose name the property should have been listed for
taxation if the property was in other respects correctly described on the abstract or
in the advertisement.
(g) Wrongful Advertisement. -Any tax collector or deputy tax collector who willfully
advertises any tax lien knowing that the property is not subject to taxation or that
the taxes advertised have been paid is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, and shall be
required to pay the injured party all damages sustained in consequence. (1939, c.
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310, s. 1715; 1955, c. 993; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1983, c. 808, s. 1; 1983 (Reg. Sess.,
1984), c. 1013; 1993, c. 539, s. 725; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1999-439, s. 1;
2000-140, s. 73; 2006-106, s. 2.)
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Attachment 2
(Advertisement to appear in The Herald Sun)
NOTICE OF ADVERTISEMENT OF TAX LIENS ON REAL PROPERTY
ORANGE COUNTY AND
TOWNS OF CARRBORO, CHAPEL HILL, HILLSBOROUGH AND MEBANE
Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 105-369 of the North Carolina
General Statutes and pursuant to an order of the Board of Commissioners of Orange County
dated January 19, 2021, I am hereby advertising tax liens for the year 2020 upon the real
estate described below. The amount advertised will be increased by interest and cost. The
omission of interest and cost from the amount advertised will not constitute a waiver of the
taxing unit's claim for these items. The real estate subject to the lien, the name of the
taxpayer (owner as of January 5, 2021), and the amount of taxes due are set out below. If
the taxes remain unpaid the lien will be foreclosed by the taxing unit and the property sold
to satisfy the claim for the taxes. These collection procedures do not apply to taxpayers
under a current US Bankruptcy plan. When a parcel was subdivided after January 1, 2020
and the ownership of one or more of the resulting parcels was transferred, the amount of
the tax lien on each parcel is the amount of the lien on the original parcel, as it existed on
January 1, 2020, as shown in this advertisement. This list includes all properties in
Orange County.
This, the 31 day of March 2021.
Nancy T. Freeman
Orange County Consolidated
City-County Tax Collector
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(Advertisement to appear in The News of Orange)
NOTICE OF ADVERTISEMENT OF TAX LIENS ON REAL PROPERTY
ORANGE COUNTY AND
TOWNS OF CARRBORO, CHAPEL HILL, HILLSBOROUGH AND MEBANE
Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 105-369 of the North Carolina
General Statutes and pursuant to an order of the Board of Commissioners of Orange County
dated January 19, 2021, I am hereby advertising tax liens for the year 2020 upon the real
estate described below. The amount advertised will be increased by interest and cost. The
omission of interest and cost from the amount advertised will not constitute a waiver of the
taxing unit's claim for these items. The real estate subject to the lien, the name of the
taxpayer (owner as of January 5, 2021), and the amount of taxes due are set out below. If
the taxes remain unpaid the lien will be foreclosed by the taxing unit and the property sold
to satisfy the claim for the taxes. These collection procedures do not apply to taxpayers
under a current US Bankruptcy plan. When a parcel was subdivided after January 1, 2020
and the ownership of one or more of the resulting parcels was transferred, the amount of
the tax lien on each parcel is the amount of the lien on the original parcel, as it existed on
January 1, 2020, as shown in this advertisement. This list includes all properties in
Orange County.
This, the 31 day of March, 2021.
Nancy T. Freeman
Orange County Consolidated
City-County Tax Collector