Hamilton County Trustee Bill Hullander, photographed Wednesday at the Times Free Press, is a candidate for reelection.Hamilton County has had good luck selling old vehicles and surplus equipment online, and now it's looking at conducting its annual back-tax sale the same way.
County Trustee Bill Hullander briefed county commissioners at their agenda session Wednesday morning. Next week, commissioners will vote whether to contract with Archon Information Systems LLC to conduct tax-sale auctions this year. If commissioners close the deal and everyone's happy, the contract could be renewed one year at a time for up to three years.
Each year, the county auctions off properties it acquired after the owners failed to pay taxes for several years. In the past, the auction has been held in early June. Dozens of potential buyers crowd into the county commission room to bid on hundreds of properties, ranging from houses and lots to odd bits and pieces of land here and there.
Hullander said his office and the Clerk and Master's Office work together on acquiring, administering and reselling the properties. The goal is to get the land and buildings into private owners' hands and back on the tax rolls.
Answering questions from commissioners Greg Martin and Sabrena Smedley, he said an online auction could be held over a period of days or weeks and the universe of potential bidders could be much greater than it is now. The county would still hold its in-person auction on the final day, he added.
And it won't cost the county anything except the annual cost of advertising the properties for sale, Hullander added. That will be about $20,000 this year. Archon will make its profit by adding a flat $25 fee per property, due at sale from the buyer. That means no extra cost to property owners, who "are struggling anyway," he said.
County purchasing director Gail Roppo said Archon offers supplementary services, including doing all the notices and advertising, if the county decided later to let it take over the whole process.
The properties to be sold this year are on the 2014 delinquent tax rolls, Hullander said. Of 991 listed, he expects about 600 will have the taxes paid before the auction.
Hamilton would be among the first counties in Tennessee to take back-tax auctions online if commissioners give their approval, he added.
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.