County to advertise delinquent 2024 tax liens after board acknowledgement of collector’s report

Deputy Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Pollock briefed the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners on the tax collector's report of unpaid 2024 taxes that are liens on real property and recommended the board order advertisement of those liens.

Pollock said the department reported about 14,000 unpaid accounts at the February update and that the number had declined to approximately 6,400 unpaid 2024 accounts as of the briefing. He said taxpayers have the month of April to pay delinquent 2024 taxes without being advertised and that staff plans to advertise delinquent accounts in four newspapers during the week of May 12: the Winston-Salem Journal, the Winston-Salem Chronicle, the Clemmons Courier and the Kernersville News.

Pollock said advertising is mandated by North Carolina General Statute 105-369 and is the first step in the foreclosure process. He noted that an advertisement fee (last year $6.50) is assessed on each account advertised to recover publication costs. Pollock also said staff would advertise about 550 unpaid sanitation and demolition liens on behalf of the county's municipalities; he described that advertising as discretionary but said those liens also can result in property foreclosure.

A commissioner asked how current collection rates compared to last year; Pollock said the county was at 98.47% collection on the date of the briefing versus 98.54% at the same date the prior year and that the numbers were generally in line with the prior year.

No formal vote was recorded during the briefing; staff said action to advertise would occur at the upcoming meeting and offered to proceed with advertisement after board approval as required by statute.