Warren County delinquent tax collections increase, 12 properties slated for auction

FRONT ROYAL – Warren County officials have taken steps in recent months to reduce the amount of back taxes owed by its residents, particularly real estate taxes.

Warren County has contracted the Pond Law Group and the TACS  firm to collect delinquent taxes on its behalf.  According to an updated report provided by Warren County Freedom Of Information Act Officer Emily Mounce on April 21, 2017, the Pond Law Group has collected to date: $337,695;TACS, which began collection activity in Nov. 2016, has collected $117,257 to date.

The top 10 delinquent taxpayers alone in Warren County owe in excess of a half-million dollars in back taxes.

In its effort to collect back taxes, Warren County began posting a ‘Top 10’ list of offenders on its website several months ago.  All delinquent real estate tax accounts and personal property accounts can be found there, as well.

Top 10 Delinquent Tax Accounts

The top 10 delinquent tax accounts, according to the Warren County Treasurer’s Delinquent Tax Database:

• Frank H. Barnett Jr. owes $98,120 for four parcels.
• Jin Pyo and Auk J. Hong owe $90,226 for 16 parcels.
• Dawgwood Inc. owes $60,544 for 24 parcels.
• Kathy Cook owes $56,807 for four parcels.
• Senary LLC owes $48,196 for four parcels.
• Jeschke and Baker LLC owes $47,712 for one parcel.
• Stout Family LLC owes $47,495 for four parcels.
• Harry Johnson owes $28,742 for one parcel.
• Walt Moyer owes $27,938 for five parcels.
• Arthur R. Behnke owes $27,894 for one parcel.

Officials plan to hold a special commissioner’s sale for delinquent properties outside the courthouse May 11. Properties for sale include 10 lots in the Sunset Village subdivision,  a lot in Shenandoah Farms and a lot in Junewood Estates,  though none of the properties slated for sale are on the list of top 10 delinquent accounts.

New Ordinances Take Effect July 1, 2017

County Administrator Doug Stanley also advised property owners via a posting on the municipal website that new local ordinances go into effect July 1 pertaining to delinquent accounts. The law will require that a person seeking to apply for a building permit must pay all delinquent taxes owed for that property.

A second ordinance states that “no business license shall be issued or renewed until the applicant has paid all delinquent business license, personal property, meals, and transient occupancy taxes owed by the business to the County.”

Those two new ordinances certainly should bring more money into Warren County coffers, though a recent check of local courthouse records indicate that at least one of the Top Ten offenders has been doing business as usual—purchasing more real estate AND securing building permits.

To view the Warren County Delinquent Database, visit http://www.warrencountyva.net/delinquent-tax-database.html.