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Accelerated tax lien sale

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

  • What: two resolutions (agenda items 10.22 and 10.23) for an accelerated tax sale and an electronic tax sale of liens on unpaid property taxes.
  • Where it stands: resolutions adopted Oct 21: accelerated sale 8-0 with one abstention, electronic sale 9-0.
  • Why it matters: the finance office counts on about $7 million from the sale to cover a 2026 revenue gap.

Caucus discussion (October 19)

  • Nolan (tax collector) presented the two resolutions. Questions had been answered by email after the prior caucus.
  • Timing: for the accelerated sale the council would have to act by about November 11, but the next regular meeting is November 12. Lavarro noted a special meeting can be called by the council president or five members.
  • Finance expects about $7 million from the accelerated sale. Revenue counts in the year received, so a later sale would hit the 2027 and then 2028 budgets. Without it the city would need other revenue, short-term notes, or higher 2027 property taxes; no estimates were available.
  • How liens work: delinquent balances accrue 18% interest (reduced rates currently apply to quarters three and four). At the sale, bidders bid the rate down from 18%, and nearly all certificates go at 0%. The city's position is that sale lowers the cost to the owner. A councilmember questioned this with an example showing only about 4% accrued on a roughly $4,000 balance.
  • About 1,100 liens are open and roughly 1,400 are issued a year across about 60,000 accounts; about half redeem within a couple of months.
  • Singh asked why the rainy-day fund is not used; the administration said state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) rules on fund balance would have to be part of that talk, and agreed to look at it. Singh asked for DCA's required balance.
  • Lavarro urged the council to reject the resolutions and hold a special meeting around November 10 or 11 if needed, saying the administration lacks the will to set up installment plans (see Property tax installment plans).
  • Ridley asked members to take time the next day for a call with Nolan before the vote.

Council meeting (October 21)

  • Items 10.22 and 10.23 were voted on after long caucus debate. Item 10.22, the accelerated sale, was adopted 8-0 with Gilmore abstaining on advice of counsel because of open liens on inherited family property; item 10.23, on how the sale proceeds, was adopted 9-0.
  • Several members who had been inclined to vote no switched to yes. Zuppa said he was persuaded the sale is essential and will not hurt residents as feared. Ephros said the budget consequences of not holding it in 2026 would be large for the 2027 budget while homeowners would see only a slight difference in timing. Lavarro said he expects roughly 700 to 800 owner-occupied homes in the sale, that in last year's sale about 465 owed less than one quarter's average tax bill, and that without the sale about 7 million dollars of next year's budget capacity goes to uncollected taxes; he voted yes after the administration committed to work on installment plans.
  • Gilmore and Griffin both said the word "accelerated" is misleading and should be changed next year. Lavarro noted that in 2022 no accelerated sale was held because the budget was adopted late in November, and the sale simply happened in February 2023.

Sources

Discussion time

About 24 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-21 - Municipal Council 6
2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus 18

Log

  • 2026-10-21 - Municipal Council - Accelerated sale adopted 8-0 (one abstention); electronic sale adopted 9-0; several members switched to yes after installment-plan commitments.
  • 2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus - Caucus discussion of the accelerated and electronic tax sale resolutions; revenue gap of about $7 million, November 11 deadline, and objections from Lavarro.
  • 2026-10-07 - Municipal Council - Tax-sale resolutions withdrawn for two weeks so the administration could answer council questions; speakers urged more help for homeowners after a large tax increase.
  • 2026-10-05 - Municipal Caucus - Caucus preview: a member noted constituents' concerns after the 15.15% tax increase and asked whether delay would hurt cash flow.