Pueblo County treasurer outlines new monthly property tax payment option for taxpayers without escrow accounts

Kim Archuleta, Pueblo County treasurer, briefed the Pueblo City Council on Aug. 4 about a new monthly property-tax payment option the county is offering to taxpayers who do not have mortgage escrow accounts.

The program is run by a private servicer, Auto Agent, and is available only to property owners who do not already have an escrow account that pays taxes on their behalf, Archuleta said. “This payment solution is only for people who do not currently have an escrow account,” she said.

How it works: taxpayers enroll at escrowtaxes.com, search for their property by parcel number, address or name, and set up monthly payments to Auto Agent. Auto Agent estimates taxes, collects monthly payments from participants and then remits the county’s two statutory half-year payments on or before Feb. 28 and June 15. Archuleta said the monthly plan collects funds in arrears (next year’s taxes paid in the following year): “It’d be arrears. Correct. So, of course, you’re always billed in arrears.”

Fees and payment methods: Archuleta said the vendor charges $1 per transaction for ACH (bank account) payments and 2.5% for debit-card transactions; she described the fees as a tradeoff for the “peace of mind” of automated monthly payments.

Who it helps and limits: she said the option could help homeowners, commercial owners, vacant-lot owners, farms and other property owners who do not have escrow accounts and who want to break tax bills into monthly amounts. The county’s role is limited to receiving the remitted half-year payments; Archuleta said Pueblo County will not receive enrollment notices or control collection.

Archuleta said the county has worked with Auto Agent for about a decade to handle payments for mortgage servicers that maintain escrow accounts, and the new offering extends that service to taxpayers without escrow accounts. She said the program is offered at no cost to Pueblo County.

She warned that failure to pay the second half of taxes can result in tax-lien sale and said the county typically advertises thousands of parcels for tax-lien sale each year and that about 1,800 parcels are sold at auction annually. Archuleta framed the program as a way to reduce lien sales and related fees and penalties.

Councilors asked clarifying questions about eligibility, whether commercial and agricultural properties qualify (Archuleta said yes if they lack escrow), whether the county or the vendor benefits financially (Archuleta said the vendor collects the fees; Pueblo County receives no revenue from the service), and how the program interacts with the county’s online payment portal.

Ending: Archuleta encouraged property owners to spread the word and offered handouts and FAQs. She said the county will provide updates as the program ramps up.