Trustee agent says sending delinquent parcels to trustee lowers penalties, asks board to decide before fall tax sale

Whitney Strohmeyer, president of Joseph B. Meyer & Associates, told the Iroquois County Board on Aug. 6 that a 2023 change to state law requires counties to rethink how delinquent-property tax sales and equity distributions are handled. Strohmeyer said counties can either continue holding traditional tax-sales that allow private tax buyers or send all delinquent parcels directly to the county trustee for trustee-managed auctions. "If you send it and it doesn't get exposed to that tax sale and the bids, it's .75% monthly, which adds up to a 9% annual," Strohmeyer said, describing the trustee-rate accrual as lower and more favorable to taxpayers than the reverse-bid penalty environment at a public sale.

Strohmeyer warned that the trustee route can delay distribution of surplus funds to taxing districts because money is held while redemptions and trustee processes proceed. She estimated last year's tax sale produced about $655,000 in sales revenue for the county and said most redemptions occur quickly; "we've run models...and all the models we didn't find anywhere it's like, oh, we're in a desperate situation," she said, arguing the trustee option is workable but requires staff capacity. She and other presenters advised the board to pass a resolution by September so any change can be reflected in the required publication before the October tax-sale cycle.