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Tooele County removes US Magnesium parcel from 2026 tax sale after bankruptcy, approves amended list
Summary
Auditor Allison presented the 2026 tax-sale list and warned of an $8.6 million total; the council voted to approve the list but approved an amendment removing the large US Magnesium parcel amid bankruptcy, state ownership and legal uncertainty.
Allison (Auditor) told the Tooele County Commission on April 7 that the county's proposed 2026 tax sale would be conducted online on May 7 via PublicSurplus.com and that, after routine work and taxpayer cures, the list had been reduced from 69 parcels to 46 with a total liability near $8.6 million. She described procedural safeguards the auditor's office uses (two mailed notices, newspaper posting) and said the county is adding a $500 wire-transfer bid deposit to reduce bid defaults.
The session centered on one large account: a parcel formerly owned by US Magnesium. Allison said the past-due balance associated with that property was approximately $8.1 million and that the parcel's assessed value had been reduced following a recent appeal and state action, from about $96 million to $44 million for 2025. "Right now, the dollar amount of the tax sale is at 8.8 million or started at 8.8. Right now, we're at 8.6," Allison said, noting a late notice from the state that changed the value and the county's expected receipts.
Council members debated whether to remove the parcel from the sale while the bankruptcy and state actions play out. Councilman Wardle moved to approve the proposed 2026 tax-sale parcels "minus parcel number 980000000424" and argued the state should be given time to work the issue. Councilman Hoffman seconded the amendment; the motion to approve the amended list carried. Council also directed that the county attorney's office include the bankruptcy-court orders in the meeting record and requested the full orders from the attorney's office.
During debate members raised financial risk and cleanup liability concerns tied to county ownership should a parcel fail to sell and be "struck to the county." One councilor said the state division of forestry had warned of a large remediation liability and urged caution; Allison responded by explaining the county's legal and procedural options (deferral agreements, abatements, or sale) and by reading portions of the bankruptcy order into the record that preserved tax liens: "Nothing in this order affects, releases, or extinguishes the liens for real property taxes owed by the debtor," she read.
The commission approved the amended tax-sale list after the discussion. Allison and staff said tax-sale data (parcel lists, noticing steps and instructions for prospective bidders) are posted on the auditor's office website and that unsold parcels would be struck to the county and handled according to statute and policy.
Next steps: the county will place the amended parcel list on the tax-sale platform in May, include the bankruptcy-court orders in the minutes as requested, and continue to monitor state action and any court developments affecting the US Magnesium parcel.
