Boyle County clerk to handle unpaid taxes

Bottom, who handled the collection and advertised the sale of delinquent taxes when she was a sheriff's deputy, estimated that there usually are about 800 delinquent tax bills a year and they represent from $150,000 to $200,000 in unpaid taxes.

Under the new arrangement, once bills become delinquent and the tax sale is held and bills are purchased, the county clerk, county attorney and sheriff each get a cut of the proceeds and the rest is distributed among state and local taxing districts, Bottom said.

The county attorney's fee is 20 percent, and the county clerk's fee is 10 percent, Bottom said. The sheriff receives a 10 percent commission plus a 10 percent penalty fee for the delinquencies, she said.

The sheriff's office likely will benefit from the change, Bottom said.

In the past, "all the office received from the sale of each delinquent tax bill was $5," she said. "The office should receive more money for their budget under this new arrangement."

The sale of delinquent taxes was created decades ago as a means of generating lost income from delinquent taxpayers, Bottom said. During the sale, which is usually an auction held once a year, people bid on delinquent taxes, and what is purchased is not land but a debt to be collected, she said.

By purchasing the right to collect past due taxes, a buyer essentially is loaning money to the property owner to pay the taxes, she said.

In addition, the state also buys a certain portion of each county's delinquent taxes.