Last night someone drew to my attention that my property, 864 Watertrough Rd in Clearlake Oaks, is on this list for a tax-defaulted sale. My property absolutely should not be on this list and I was incomplete disbelief. I have always paid my property taxes on time, including for the present year. I have never been contacted about late taxes, except once, this past summer (by mail). This was for a missed final payment of a payment plan, and it was a bill with penalties – however, I did not receive the initial bill. I believe this is because the mailbox for my address (among others) was stolen – literally ripped out of the ground along Hwy 20 – around the time the initial bill may have been sent. This can be verified with the postal service – for well over a month, possibly 2, there was interrupted mail delivery, and some mail was permanently lost. I contacted the tax collector’s office by phone to discuss this, and told them I would be happy to pay the amount due and send a check on that same day, but requested that they remove any penalty fees as I did not willfully or negligently skip a payment. I was told that they “could not” do so, and eventually, that I needed to speak to someone else regarding my request, and was then transferred to the voicemail of the person who oversees tax collection, but received no response. Multiple calls over the next couple weeks were never answered by a live person (during office hours). I have received NO FURTHER CONTACT about this issue up to this date. Legislation text says the listed properties “are typically properties with an assessed value under $5,000,” but my property was recently assessed at $450k and I have over $300k of mortgage, AND THIS IS OVER A TAX BILL OF APPROXIMATELY $1000! I have always paid my taxes on time and have a record of doing so for years, and these facts would lead me to question the process by which ANY of the properties on this list actually got here. I think this entire process needs a thorough review. Nonetheless, I strongly request you do NOT approve this list with my property on it and get the tax collector to reply to me so I can follow up with the appropriate payment. I will try to reach out to them again. I hope I do not get tax penalties simply due to the fact that my mailbox was stolen, and it seems like there should be provisions to adjust penalties in highly exceptional circumstances. Perhaps this suggestion can be made to the tax collector. Thank you for your consideration.
Last night someone drew to my attention that my property, 864 Watertrough Rd in Clearlake Oaks, is on this list for a tax-defaulted sale. My property absolutely should not be on this list and I was incomplete disbelief. I have always paid my property taxes on time, including for the present year. I have never been contacted about late taxes, except once, this past summer (by mail). This was for a missed final payment of a payment plan, and it was a bill with penalties – however, I did not receive the initial bill. I believe this is because the mailbox for my address (among others) was stolen – literally ripped out of the ground along Hwy 20 – around the time the initial bill may have been sent. This can be verified with the postal service – for well over a month, possibly 2, there was interrupted mail delivery, and some mail was permanently lost. I contacted the tax collector’s office by phone to discuss this, and told them I would be happy to pay the amount due and send a check on that same day, but requested that they remove any penalty fees as I did not willfully or negligently skip a payment. I was told that they “could not” do so, and eventually, that I needed to speak to someone else regarding my request, and was then transferred to the voicemail of the person who oversees tax collection, but received no response. Multiple calls over the next couple weeks were never answered by a live person (during office hours). I have received NO FURTHER CONTACT about this issue up to this date. Legislation text says the listed properties “are typically properties with an assessed value under $5,000,” but my property was recently assessed at $450k and I have over $300k of mortgage, AND THIS IS OVER A TAX BILL OF APPROXIMATELY $1000! I have always paid my taxes on time and have a record of doing so for years, and these facts would lead me to question the process by which ANY of the properties on this list actually got here. I think this entire process needs a thorough review. Nonetheless, I strongly request you do NOT approve this list with my property on it and get the tax collector to reply to me so I can follow up with the appropriate payment. I will try to reach out to them again. I hope I do not get tax penalties simply due to the fact that my mailbox was stolen, and it seems like there should be provisions to adjust penalties in highly exceptional circumstances. Perhaps this suggestion can be made to the tax collector. Thank you for your consideration.