Carson City's delinquent tax list is out

Land owners in Carson City owe $582,627 in property taxes and penalties, according to the Assessor's office.

Roughly 475 property owners names, parcels and what they owe are listed on the 2006-2007 delinquent tax list, published in the Nevada Appeal on Monday and the city's Web site at: www.carson-city.nv.us.

"We don't have much delinquent," said Alvin Kramer, the city's assessor. Collected each quarter "are 99.5 percent of the payments."

Not paying can frequently be a strategic move, not because the owner is short of money - especially if the property is being eyed for development or up for sale, Kramer said.

One example of this might be Stew's Sportatorium, a local brewery and restaurant up for sale. The building owners owe more than $6,600.

Or "interest on money to be used to pay the bill is higher than the penalties," he cited as another possible reason for not paying.

This is why the property owner is charged for costs associated with collecting the payment, he emphasized.

Some on the list owe small amounts. Many of the lower amounts are penalties not paid after the tax money was handed over late. The Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway owes the city $13.44, likely penalties on taxes already paid, for example.

Others owe tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes. A family trust owes more than $80,000 on an east-side parcel, according to the list.

Owners "know what's going on," Kramer said. "They get a call from me."

The city waits nearly four years before auctioning off a property in exchange for tax money. Kramer recalls only one piece of property auctioned since he took office in the mid-1990s: an extremely narrow remnant between two other parcels that one of the neighboring owners didn't realize was part of their property, he said.

Only a few of the property owners listed are years behind in their payments.

Property taxes are due on the third Monday of August and the first Mondays of October, January and March.

In 2005, state legislators decided to allow local governments to sell delinquent property tax liens to private investors, who would pay a city or county to hold the lien. The county would get its money right away instead of waiting for years to auction off the property.

Carson has opted not to do this, however.

Property is assessed at 35 percent of its current appraised value. There are more than 19,000 land, residential and commercial properties in Carson.

Tax revenue from all property - real and personal - is estimated to reach $43 million during this fiscal year, which ends June 30. This amount is distributed among other service providers, such as the state, school district and special districts. The city ends up with about 40 percent of this money for its various expenses.

Property taxes are expected to make up 22.7 percent of the city's $57 million general fund budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The total budget is estimated to be $117.6 million.

Contact the assessor's office, 887-2027, for details.

Information

Contact the Carson City assessor's office at 887-2027 or visit:

http://207.228.41.46/jwalk/taxcollcached.html?jvmven=Apple+Computer%2c+Inc.&jvmver=1.4.2_09&msjvmver=0

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.