LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county’s planned tax-defaulted land sale set for later this month has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, Lake County Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen updated the Board of Supervisors on the sale, reporting its cancellation and plans to reschedule.
Ringen’s written report to the board said that in a March 30 letter the State Controller’s Office had “strongly recommended” to county tax collectors that such tax sales be canceled or postponed until the governor provided further guidance.
While such land sales take place under statutory requirements, Ringen’s report said the governor can suspend statutory provisions as necessary. At the same time, Gov. Gavin Newsom “has moved to protect citizens from being displaced due to their financial situation related to the COVID-19 crisis.”
“Tax Defaulted Land Sale 157 is cancelled due to the Governor's executive order,” Ringen said in her written report.
That also was her message to the board during its meeting on Tuesday.
Ringen said she is planning to reschedule the sale for October. Once she has a date set, she said she will come back to the board for approval.
Ringen’s previous reports to the board stated that 240 properties were to be auctioned off.
In addition to a new date in October, Ringen said she is looking at conducting another tax sale in March 2021.
The county has thousands of properties in tax default, totaling millions of dollars in uncollected revenue.
The city of Clearlake and the county have been at loggerheads over the tax sales, which have not happened as frequently under Ringen’s tenure, a fact she has attributed to issues including staffing.
Earlier this year, the city threatened the county with legal action if Ringen’s office didn’t make additional efforts to hold more sales.
Those issues didn’t arise directly during Tuesday’s board meeting, although Ringen told the board that her office is working to reduce the number of parcels that are in tax default. She said she doesn’t know if they will be able to catch up any time soon.
Supervisor Tina Scott asked Ringen how many properties have been redeemed ahead of the tax sale.
Ringen estimated 25 to 30 properties had been redeemed, noting the majority of redemptions happen in the 30 days before a sale. She said that the county has so far collected $350,000 in delinquent taxes in relation to parcels listed in the recent sale.
She also reported that her department will be closely tracking properties impacted by COVID-19.
Last month, the board approved a process for waiving late fees and penalties for property owners who cannot pay on time due to impacts of the pandemic, as Lake County News has reported.
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County cancels spring tax-defaulted land sale; new sale planned for fall
- Elizabeth Larson
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