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Resident asks county to investigate tax-deed impacts; commissioners say towns handle tax forfeitures
Summary
A resident asked commissioners to investigate which Merrimack County properties were taken by tax deed and raised concerns about jury pay and 'lawful money'; commissioners said municipal tax-deed actions are handled by cities and towns and outside county jurisdiction.
MERRIMACK COUNTY — A resident asked the Board of Commissioners to investigate recent tax forfeitures across Merrimack County and requested assistance identifying affected property owners; the commissioners said municipal tax-deed processes fall to individual cities and towns and recommended pursuing records at the municipal level.
The speaker, who identified himself as Joe, said he had visited the state office that handles federal funding oversight and the state right-to-know ombudsman and sought county assistance in identifying 275 people in 75 towns reported by a news outlet as losing property to tax deed. He asked whether the county could help determine who the victims were and urged the county to provide assistance.
Commissioners replied that cities and towns conduct property tax collection and tax-deed processes and that the county receives the same remitted funds regardless of municipal outcomes. They advised the speaker to contact the municipality where the property forfeiture occurred because those records are public at the town level; they also said some tax-forfeiture matters are civil issues rather than criminal matters.
The same speaker raised unrelated questions about payment of wages and jury pay and asked whether county employees could be paid in coin (gold or silver). Commissioners said the county follows state law and posting requirements for wage information and that direct-deposit and electronic payment are lawful methods; they offered to confirm workplace postings and review the matter but said arranging alternative currency payments is beyond routine practice.
No formal action was taken; commissioners offered to review required workplace postings and suggested the resident pursue municipal records or the state right-to-know ombudsman for the tax-deed questions.
