Pay delinquent taxes or liens will be sold, auditor warns

The threat of a lien sale and the sale could generate $7 million.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Certified letters were sent Thursday and todayto 25,000 Mahoning County delinquent taxpayers warning them that their liens will be sold in a property tax lien certificate sale Nov. 30 if they don't pay up.
Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon said the threat of the lien sale and the sale itself will help the county collect an estimated $7 million in delinquent property taxes this year.
"The certified letters, which provide legal notice of the lien sale, will prompt hundreds of deadbeat taxpayers to come to the treasurer's office to pay their tax or contract for a payment plan," Reardon said.
Reardon said delinquent taxpayers have until the close of business on Nov. 29 to pay their taxes or get on a payment plan.
"While we have become very aggressive in collecting delinquent taxes, our goal is to always work with all individuals that are willing to pay their tax rather than taking legal action," Reardon said.
Six lien sales have been conducted since November 2000 by the treasurer's office, resulting in the collection of $30 million in delinquent real estate taxes.
The taxes collected are distributed to the appropriate taxing districts by the county auditor. About 68 percent of the tax is returned to school districts, Reardon said.