The number of properties with delinquent property tax payments decreased significantly last year compared with 2023, said Treasurer Moni Grushkin.
A total of 426 properties accounted for $815,000 in unpaid property taxes last year in La Plata County, Grushkin said. That marks a significant decrease from 2023, when more than $1 million in back taxes were owed across nearly 600 properties.
Grushkin attributed the improvement to her office’s efforts to give taxpayers every opportunity to pay their bills before penalties or liens are applied.
“My goal is to reduce the number of properties that end up in the tax lien sale or end up in publication,” she said.
Grushkin published a legal notice listing the names and addresses of delinquent taxpayers in Wednesday’s print edition of The Durango Herald. The legal notice will run again Wednesday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Oct. 22 – all ahead of the Nov. 6 tax lien sale.
Each year, Colorado counties are required by state law to publish a list of property owners who have not paid their real property taxes. In La Plata County, the list includes taxpayers who have not paid their 2024 property taxes and whose delinquent accounts have not been covered by a lienholder.
Delinquent notices are mailed the first week of July, as required by Colorado law. After that, the treasurer’s office begins calling property owners.
This year, within two weeks of sending notices and beginning outreach, 100 accounts paid their outstanding balances and avoided publication, Grushkin said.
If the taxes remain unpaid, the county will auction off the liens next month, allowing investors to bid on the tax debt. An investor’s payment covers the taxes owed, and the property owner must later repay the investor with accrued interest to redeem the property.
For 2024, the largest amount of back taxes owed is $45,000, including interest, on the Southfork Gateway lot, which is located north of the roundabout at Zyme Rock Road and Wilson Gulch Drive in the Grandview area, where the new McDonald’s is located. Grushkin said the property owner has already been in touch and plans to pay before the end of October.
Several other properties have also paid or made plans to pay their back taxes before the deadline, she said.
While the legal notice will run again Oct. 15 and 22, the list will not be updated as payments are made. Delinquent taxes can be paid until noon on Nov. 5, the day before the tax lien sale begins.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
