Supervisors review tax-foreclosure properties, auction timing and a cleanup fund for problematic parcels

Washington County finance staff updated the Board of Supervisors on year-end sales tax and cash balances and reviewed options for scheduling tax-foreclosure auctions and using a property-cleanup fund to manage liabilities on parcels the county forecloses on.

A county finance staff member told the board sales tax receipts likely will land near $30,000,000 for 2024 but that cash balances are lower than at the same point last year; staff said the county’s lowest cash position this year reached about $15.7 million. The presenter explained accounting treatments that defer property-tax receivables and described how scheduled foreclosure auctions can affect the county’s reported surplus or loss through book entries rather than cash flows.

Staff reviewed options for holding one or two foreclosure-auction cycles in 2025. The county’s plan discussed a May auction and a possible second auction in late August or early September; a delayed second auction could be pushed to spring 2026. Staff explained that while auctions can help reduce receivables and create a temporary improvement in book balances, the county would not necessarily realize new recurring cash until later in the year.

Supervisors and staff also discussed a property-cleanup fund set up for properties the county may take by foreclosure and sell after cleanup. Staff said that fund is intended to pay for cleanup, demolition or environmental assessments (phase 1) on properties the county expects to sell. The board discussed specific parcels, including a property with known liens and some history of contamination (barrels/old tanks) and a former car dealership that was returned to the tax roll after cleanup.

Staff offered to provide supervisors with a list of properties currently in tax enforcement and those flagged as potential liabilities; supervisors asked finance staff to return with that list and with suggestions about when to schedule auctions and whether to perform targeted environmental assessments before auctioning specific parcels.

The board also discussed legal and accounting processes for taking possession of property, lien priorities, and the difficulty of recouping cleanup costs when owners walk away. County counsel and tax enforcement staff will review options and provide guidance to supervisors on next steps.

Ending — Supervisors requested a list of foreclosed and at-risk properties and directed staff to evaluate targeted phase-1 environmental assessments for parcels with known contamination or liens before placing them on an auction list.