Properties more than 15 years in tax arrears may be sold

KENT — At the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 7, Tax Collector Deborah Devaux announced that she is beginning the process of organizing a tax auction of properties whose owners are delinquent on their property taxes.

There are currently 12 properties that could potentially go to auction, and Devaux said that all of the owners have been informed of their debts and the possible consequences of not paying them.

All of the property owners have owed taxes to the town for more than three years. Some are reaching the 15-year threshold at which the debts would begin to be annulled.

Not all of the debts are large, and some of the property owners have been working toward paying them off.

“Some of them are working to their capacity to pay their debt, and that’s the sad part,� Devaux said at the meeting.

Selectman Karren Garrity said she would like to look into finding options for those who are attempting to pay their debts, by talking to Director of Social Services Jerrilynn Tiso.

Devaux mentioned that there has been a precedent for tax abatements, which would give property owners an exemption or reduction of their debt. In some cases it may be a better choice for the town to take this direction, since eviction and storage of personal property could be very expensive for the town.

If a house is sold at auction, the original owners would have six months to redeem the property before the new owners could have them evicted. If there are no bidders on the property, the town could end up owning it.

Devaux said that a tax sale of this sort has only happened once before in Kent, and that it was only for land. She decided to begin working on this sale because many of the debts will soon expire.

“I’ve been pushing many of these off to the side,� she said.

Another option that was discussed at the meeting was changing the three-year minimum for eligible properties to five years, which would reduce the number of houses on the list from 12 to six.

The selectmen decided to table the issue until they had more information on the options for helping homeowners who are attempting to pay their debts. It will be discussed it at a special meeting.