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Tax-deed action delayed; county to revise ordinance after notice defect and ongoing remediation
Summary
Officials paused taking tax deed on a Northern Mobile Home Park parcel after discovering an error in a notice; remediation work by Wisconsin Public Services is underway and county staff will bring proposed ordinance changes to Chapter 3.2 to clarify tax-foreclosure and post-sale procedures.
County staff told the committee they delayed a planned tax-deed taking for a mobile-home park parcel after corporation counsel discovered errors in a previously issued notice and recommended reissuing the proper notice, which restarts the statutory redemption timeline.
Corporation counsel Mike (corporation counsel) said his review identified deficiencies in the November notice to the property owner and, to avoid a challenge in light of recent case law such as Tyler v. Hennepin County and Wisconsin statutory changes, the county issued a corrected notice last week. Under Wisconsin law the corrected notice restarts a 90-day redemption period during which the owner may pay delinquent taxes; the corrected notice also allowed the county to include an additional year of unpaid taxes on the notice.
Mike said the county worked with Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) to allow human-health-hazard remediation at the property to proceed despite the county’s lack of ownership while the tax-foreclosure timeline runs. He reported that dumpsters and removal activity are underway at the site.
Administrator Leonard said staff will propose amendments to Chapter 3.2 of the county ordinance to clarify responsibilities and the process around tax foreclosure, notice issuance, handling surplus proceeds and post-sale remediation costs. He said the changes will reflect the operational roles of the treasurer, corporation counsel and other departments and will incorporate lessons from the September state guidance and county discussions.
Committee members asked whether remediation costs could be recouped if the owner pays taxes before a deed is taken and whether the county should issue a special assessment for remediation work to protect its interest. Mike and other staff said they will analyze options and that special assessment and surplus-offset questions will be evaluated at the time of sale. Administrator Leonard said staff plan to bring recommended ordinance amendments to the committee within about 55 days for review.
Next steps: remediation continues on site; county staff will monitor payments, evaluate collection options, consider special assessment notices if appropriate and present draft ordinance language for Chapter 3.2 to the committee for input before sending it to the County Board.
