As property taxes have surged in Park County, so has the number of people unable to pay them.

Through Wednesday, property owners had failed to pay more than $231,700 worth of taxes and irrigation assessments from 2022 across 244 separate parcels. Although the unpaid balance represents a fraction of the $63.5 million that was billed to all property owners, it’s well above the $167,300 that went unpaid on 215 parcels a year ago, according to data from the Park County Treasurer’s Office.

“It was just a rough year,” said Treasurer Barb Poley.

When property taxes and irrigation assessments go unpaid, state law provides a way for school districts, local governments and irrigation districts to get what they’re owed in a timely fashion: The debts are put up for sale.

In exchange for paying off the taxes and assessments, buyers collect 18% interest when the owner settles up or, if the owner still fails to pay, can eventually take possession of the property. (Owners can lose their property if they fail to pay four years’ worth of property taxes or their water rights if they are 18 months late on an irrigation assessment.)

This year’s jump in unpaid taxes drew a corresponding increase in attendance at the county’s tax sale. A total of 135 bidders — roughly 50 more than usual — turned out at the Park County Fairgrounds Wednesday to buy up the debt.

The event went well, but Poley said her office would love to have no unpaid taxes and no need for a sale.

“It’s hard on our end, knowing these people [who owe taxes] and, talking to them over and over, their circumstances,” she said.

Poley couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of this year’s spike, saying there are a variety of reasons taxes go unpaid. For example, she said some owners of vacant lots wait to pay until they sell the property and some ag producers wait until they sell the year’s cattle.

Immediately after the May 10 payment deadline, there were a whopping 440 pieces of property with unpaid taxes or irrigation assessments. However, the owners of about 200 parcels paid up before Wednesday.

Poley said her office worked hard to try to minimize the number of properties that ultimately went to sale. As required by law, each delinquent parcel was publicly listed and advertised in the Powell Tribune and Cody Enterprise for three weeks. Beyond the newspaper advertising, Poley said her office tried to spread the word via their website, on Facebook and by calling owners when they could find contact information.

“Some of them, the ones that we actually got ahold of, were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I forgot,’” Poley said.

But others explained that they couldn’t afford the bill.

“They’re aware of the interest and how it all works and stuff, and we went through that … but they just honestly didn’t have the money right now,” Poley said.

The recent tax bills are based on real estate sales data from 2021. Home prices shot up sharply in Park County that year — by an average of roughly 24% — due to a pandemic-fueled real estate boom. Taxes generally jumped by a corresponding amount last year, prompting residents and Park County Assessor Pat Meyer to call on state lawmakers to provide property tax relief.

The Legislature took some action in last winter’s General Session, including by significantly expanding a property tax refund program. More people are now eligible for a partial tax refund — Poley is guessing the number of recipients in Park County could triple this year — and they can receive a bigger check. But calls for broader and deeper relief have persisted while property values and taxes have continued to rise.

“Something’s got to change with the increases,” Poley said, adding that state lawmakers “have got to figure something out.”

When the county’s tax sale arrives in 2024, the treasurer would like to have a much smaller list of unpaid taxes up for sale. 

“I’m hoping this time next year we’re not having this discussion,” she said.

However, it could be a case of déjà-vu, as the value of the average Park County home jumped another 16% last year.

Tax bills will be mailed out by the end of the month, with the first half due by Nov. 10.