City officials told the council on June 3 that public notices required for a tax-lien sale began last Thursday and that the sale is scheduled to start June 24, with an initial group of 129 properties to be included. The official said notices will run in the newspaper for four weeks and that the city will also send courtesy final notices to owners whose properties are scheduled for the sale.

Staff described the process and options available to property owners: payment plans remain available, a tax-amnesty program for residential and commercial owners has a deadline of June 13, and owners can remove their property from the sale by curing the debt prior to the auction. The speaker clarified that the property itself is not sold at the lien sale; the purchaser buys the tax lien and will have three years to collect interest and principal from the owner.

City staff said the city is working the sale in phases because the full arrears list is larger than the initial 129 properties; unsold liens in the first round will roll into subsequent sale dates. Staff also said they have started to contact more than 200 property owners who are on payment plans and expect most of those plans to be completed by the end of the month.

Council members thanked the comptroller for detailed preparation and cautioned that the process is complicated because of federal and state guideline changes; the city said it is proceeding cautiously to reduce legal and financial risk.