AUBURN — Fewer households are late in paying their Lewiston-Auburn property taxes this year compared to last year, according to information from Twin Cities finance departments.
Auburn Finance Director Jill Eastman said the city mailed late payment notices to 635 Auburn property owners Friday. Those notices warn taxpayers that they have 30 days to settle their tax bills before the city files a tax lien on their property.
Last year, in May 2011, Auburn mailed 663 — 28 notices more than this year.
Lewiston Tax Collector Nancy Mennealy said her department mailed 778 of the 30-day notices earlier this month. Last year, Lewiston mailed 824 — 46 more than this year.
The 30-day notices are the first step in the lien process. Maine law gives property-owning taxpayers 18 months to cure the unpaid property taxes.
If the debt remains unpaid after the lien expires, the city can begin the process of foreclosing on the property for unpaid taxes.
“I’ve talked to some people who said they just forgot,” Eastman said. “Right now, we only send bills to taxpayers one time each year. We’re considering an idea to send them out twice a year, but that could depend on how much more it costs.”
Mennealy cautioned against using the number of notices mailed or of liens filed as economic indicators.
“I don’t know how many bank foreclosures there have been in the past year, but I’ve seen quite a few on my desk,” she said. “But one thing to keep in mind is that when the banks foreclose, they pay the taxes and start over on the property with a clean slate. So just because the taxes are paid, that does not mean that someone didn’t lose their home.”
staylor@sunjournal.com
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