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Resident urges Laramie officials to reimburse interest on tax-lien sale property
Summary
Janelle Gaddis told the City Council she purchased a parcel at a 2017 tax-lien sale, was later told the lot was unbuildable, and said the city attorney offered to buy back the property for taxes and expenses but declined to pay interest she says the statute entitles her to; she said she has not received a substantive reply from city staff.
At the start of Tuesday's Laramie City Council work session, resident Janelle Gaddis told the council she acquired a property through a 2017 tax-lien sale and later learned the lot had been labeled unbuildable by city planning.
Gaddis said she contacted the city attorney and was told the city "was not at fault" but was willing to buy the parcel back only for taxes and expenses and "not willing to pay any of the interest that I would be entitled to according to, you know, the Wyoming state statute titled 39" when she sought reimbursement. She said she provided documentation of expenses and interest after receiving the attorney's message in September 2025 and followed up by email on January 5 with a copy to council members but had not received a reply.
Gaddis said the former owner, Marino LLC, declared bankruptcy in 2016 and that a homeowners association the developer was supposed to form never materialized; she told the council that if the HOA had taken responsibility, the property might not have gone to tax sale. She asked the council to consider reimbursement or another remedy if the lot truly cannot be built on.
The council did not take immediate action during the work session; Gaddis said she had not received a substantive response from the city attorney or staff during the meeting, and the council did not provide a resolution on the record. The comment is on the public record and council staff may follow up with the resident after the meeting.
