Las Vegas Review-Journal: Unpaid property taxes mount

SOUTHERN NEVADA ECONOMY: Unpaid property taxes mount

$51 million unpaid for fiscal year

By JENNIFER ROBISON
REVIEW-JOURNAL


As if waning taxable sales and slumping gaming revenue weren't enough, you can add Clark County property taxes to the catalog of levies feeling the economic slowdown.

Statistics from Clark County Treasurer Laura Fitzpatrick show big gains in parcels with unpaid property taxes.

The number of delinquent parcels advertised in a public notice in Wednesday's Review-Journal rose 51.2 percent when compared with the number of lots published in the paper a year ago, Fitzpatrick said Friday.

What's more, 2.3 percent of the county's properties in Wednesday's notice were in arrears, compared with 1.4 percent a year earlier.

That's $51 million -- plus $7.7 million in penalties and interest -- Clark County property owners still owe for fiscal 2007-2008, which runs from July 1 to June 30.

That could mean less money for public schools and libraries, two of the functions financed through property taxes. But Fitzpatrick said the vast majority of landowners will likely pay up quickly, so the economic impact shouldn't be significant.

If they don't portend hardships for public services, the treasurer's figures do somewhat signal the state of the local economy.

Some of the delinquencies come from mailing errors, or forgetful homeowners who didn't realize their refinancing made them, and not their bank, responsible for sending in property-tax payments. And one big builder -- the only case that's been brought to Fitzpatrick's attention -- landed on the list because of a payment-processing mistake at the county.

Many of the rest, though, face financial issues. Forty percent of property owners on Wednesday's list owned five or more delinquent parcels, a lot count that often indicates ownership by a builder, investor or bank. Just 15 percent of property owners listed a year ago owned five or more parcels. The change could come from troubles in the building and mortgage industries. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.lvrj.com/business/19232779.html

I mean, we were just about to overtake Bumfuck, Idaho for 289,374th place on the list for infrastructure and availability of public services! And now our tax revenues faw down go boom.

Wut ev....