Colfax council approves placing delinquent sewer and refuse charges on Placer County tax roll

City Council members on Wednesday adopted two resolutions to place delinquent sewer service charges and refuse collection fees on the Placer County property tax rolls for the 2025–26 fiscal year.

Shanna Stahl, administrative services officer for the City of Colfax, told the council that, as of June 5, the city’s delinquency report showed approximately $135,000 in outstanding sewer charges across 70 accounts and about $17,000 in delinquent refuse charges. Stahl said the sewer delinquency figure represents roughly a 20 percent reduction from the prior year.

The council opened a public hearing on the matter, heard no public comments specific to the hearing, and then voted to adopt the two separate resolutions. The measures authorize the city to transmit the total outstanding balances to Placer County for inclusion on the property tax bills that will be collected through the county tax system in December and April of the following year, Stahl explained.

Stahl clarified timing and removal options: the delinquency list used for the hearing was effective June 5, and account holders generally have until the county transmission in July to bring accounts current; balances transmitted to the county are then due on the property tax installments in December and April. Stahl said about 70 percent of the accounts on the list are repeat delinquencies.

Councilmembers asked whether the reported delinquencies would change before transmission to the county and discussed scheduling a future agenda item to consider moving billing permanently onto the tax roll to reduce delinquencies. Councilmember (name on record) requested that the city return with a formal agenda item on the pros and cons of tax-roll billing.

The council voted to adopt both resolutions by voice vote. No roll-call tally with individual names was recorded in the transcript; councilmembers present who voted in favor were those seated at the meeting. The resolutions will allow staff to forward the delinquent balances to the county for collection via property tax assessments.

Looking ahead, councilmembers flagged the question of whether a city-wide transition to tax-roll billing should be scheduled for formal discussion at a later meeting so the council can weigh administrative impacts, customer notification, and timing with the county’s tax-processing calendar.