If you owe property taxes in Jackson, you may see yourself on a now-public list.
The town’s message to those delinquent taxpayers: we’re coming for you.
Jackson Township is now clawing back the tax dollars that never came in.
“Right now, we’re owed over $14 million,” said Mayor Jennifer Kuhn. “If we can get a third of it, a half of it, it’s more than anybody else has gone after and tried to get back to the taxpayers for the town.”
Mayor Kuhn made public a list of 129 properties and owners that all owe taxes.
“I don’t know how it was overlooked,” she said.
Properties include vacant land, overgrown lots, and in some cases, rundown buildings.
The owner of 29 Cassville Road owes just shy of $360,000, and according to tax records, not a dollar has been paid dating all the way back to 1994.
Tracking down every name on the list admittedly won’t be easy.
“We are going to have some arduous tasks ahead of us when we can’t identify the lawful owner,” said Jackson Township Business Administrator Charles Terefenko.
The town hired a specialized law firm to assist, and in some cases, will offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
“Go over this list, if you know someone on this list please call our tax collector so we can bring you to the table, get your property, pay your taxes, take it back, or sign the paperwork and move on,” said Mayor Kuhn.
“A major source of our revenue is our tax base. So, we need to get uncollected taxes back into our revenue line so we can operate effectively as a municipality,” said Terefenko.
Jackson leaders issued a 14-day notice before they begin foreclosure proceedings.
You can view the list of delinquent properties HERE.