Many children and more than a few adults are counting the days and hours until Santa arrives next week.  But taxpayers who’ve yet to pay their 2014 property tax bills should be counting the days and hours until January 6, 2015, the date on which those taxes become delinquent. In a previous post I described the basic issues concerning interest and enforced collections once January 6 arrives.  In today’s post, I focus on two more January 6 issues: record ownership and delinquency warning notices.

Many children and more than a few adults are counting the days and hours until Santa arrives next week.  But taxpayers who’ve yet to pay their 2014 property tax bills should be counting the days and hours until January 6, 2015, the date on which those taxes become delinquent. In a previous post I described the basic issues concerning interest and enforced collections once January 6 arrives.  In today’s post, I focus on two more January 6 issues: record ownership and delinquency warning notices.

Almost ten years ago, in the town of Bushwood, North Carolina, the “generous” owner of the historic textile mill building just off Main Street donated the property to the town (it was difficult to maintain and the owner didn’t want to pay property taxes on it any more).

Almost ten years ago, in the town of Bushwood, North Carolina, the “generous” owner of the historic textile mill building just off Main Street donated the property to the town (it was difficult to maintain and the owner didn’t want to pay property taxes on it any more).

Few things are as aggravating to local government employers as paying for the cost of an expensive training program only to have the employee leave immediately to go to work for another local government employer. The new employer gets the benefit of the training for which the old employer paid. Small and rural cities and counties commonly suffer this loss among their entry-level law enforcement and firefighter ranks. Can local governments recoup the cost of training from employees who leave soon afterward? It seems only fair. But is it lawful?

Few things are as aggravating to local government employers as paying for the cost of an expensive training program only to have the employee leave immediately to go to work for another local government employer. The new employer gets the benefit of the training for which the old employer paid. Small and rural cities and counties commonly suffer this loss among their entry-level law enforcement and firefighter ranks. Can local governments recoup the cost of training from employees who leave soon afterward? It seems only fair. But is it lawful?

New Year’s Day is best known for hangovers and college football bowl games.

New Year’s Day is best known for hangovers and college football bowl games.

As I detailed in a previous post, among the funding options available to local units for capital projects are special assessments. Special assessments are charges levied on a subset of real properties located within a county or municipality to fund public infrastructure projects that directly benefit those properties. As such, special assessments are a form of targeted revenue generation.

As I detailed in a previous post, among the funding options available to local units for capital projects are special assessments. Special assessments are charges levied on a subset of real properties located within a county or municipality to fund public infrastructure projects that directly benefit those properties. As such, special assessments are a form of targeted revenue generation.