Attorney presents Angelina County tax‑collection report: sales from mall payment drove higher collections

John Thomas, an attorney with Linebarger Goggin Blair & Sampson, briefed the Lufkin City Council on the firm’s work on delinquent property‑tax collection for the period July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Thomas said the firm received the county tax roll turnover in July and reported the new accounts and base tax amounts passed to the collection firm, telling the council the base tax on the most recent turned‑over accounts was $465,623.76 and noting there were “18 fewer accounts than ’23 and $55,000 less, available to collect than 2023.” He reported an analysis showing 2,327 accounts on the delinquent roll with a total tax base of $1,293,988.13. Thomas described the firm’s collection tools as stepped mailings, lawsuits, tax warrants (usable only in limited statutory circumstances) and post‑judgment tax sales. “We send increasingly more stern letters as it goes along, and that’s probably our best tool to collect a lot of the money,” he said. He reported 24 lawsuits last year involving $64,124.51 in delinquent taxes, penalties and interest, and 69 pending suits totaling $300,929.44. On collections, Thomas said the firm collected $610,237.24 during the reporting year, versus $355,796.10 the prior year, and attributed much of the increase to payment by a mall account that had been outstanding; he said the mall payment meaningfully raised the November collections. Thomas explained resale and sheriff’s deed procedures under Texas law and local practice: the firm prepares resale deeds for the sheriff’s signature in compliance with Texas Property Code §34.05, and an Angelina County resale resolution dating to 1998 set a 20% floor price threshold that requires county sign‑off to accept a sale below that level. He also described the statutory redemption period for tax sales as up to two years and said real property delinquencies may remain on the roll for up to 20 years (business personal property, five years). Council members asked about the public accessibility of the property‑sale listings and the timing and cost of redemptions; Thomas said the Linebarger property‑sales webpage is publicly available and that a purchaser’s right of redemption can be bought out in some cases. He also told the council the firm prioritizes larger accounts for collection but can pursue smaller balances if the council requests action on particular properties. No formal action was taken; the item was a staff presentation and Q&A.