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Board approves several tax-administration actions: alternate payments, foreclosure method, clerical corrections, waiver delegation, due-date change
Summary
Newton County commissioners approved a package of resolutions March 18 that change several tax-administration procedures, including payment methods, foreclosure options, clerical corrections, waiver authority and the annual tax due date.
The Newton County Board of Commissioners approved a package of tax-administration resolutions on March 18 that change several procedural aspects of local property tax administration.
Key approvals:
- The board authorized the Newton County Tax Commissioner to accept forms of payment other than cash, including credit cards, debit cards, checks and money orders, by approving resolution R031825A. County legal staff noted Georgia law permits the governing authority to authorize those payment methods.
- The board approved resolution R031825B authorizing the Tax Commissioner to use judicial in rem tax foreclosure to collect unpaid property taxes. County counsel said the judicial foreclosure process is “cleaner, more transparent” than selling tax liens to third parties and allows the court to oversee sales and distribution of surplus proceeds.
- Resolution R031825C authorizing the Tax Commissioner to correct obvious clerical errors in the tax digest pursuant to OCGA 45-5-380 was approved. Staff said the measure allows the tax digest to be corrected without delaying submission to the state.
- The board approved R031825D to permit the Tax Commissioner to waive penalties and interest when a reasonable cause — not willful neglect — is shown. The board added a reporting step by request of commissioners: the tax commissioner will provide quarterly reports of waiver decisions to the county manager, who will disseminate them to the board.
- The board approved a change to the annual property tax due date (resolution R031825E) so property taxes will be due Nov. 15 rather than Dec. 1, with the change to take effect beginning tax year 2026. Staff and the tax commissioner said moving the due date earlier will help revenue timing for county and school systems and give the tax assessor additional time to prepare a single-payment digest.
All of the above were approved by voice votes during the meeting. County counsel and the tax commissioner answered procedural questions during discussion. Several resolutions were described by staff as standard practice in other Georgia jurisdictions and as tools to increase administrative transparency and efficiency.
