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Summit County shows strong tax collections for 2014

As of Jan. 2, Summit County listed roughly $6.9 million in delinquent taxes for 2014 for all of the municipalities and districts.

The total property taxes billed in 2014 was $130.9 million and as of Dec. 30, approximately $124 million had been collected. Property taxes were due on Dec. 1.

"It’s about normal for this time of year," Summit County Treasurer Corrie Forsling said. "We generally expect to collect 93 to 94 percent by the due date and this is 94.6 percent.

"When you get to numbers this large, it becomes a normal part of the process, especially for our value for the size of our county," she said. "We have some of the highest property values in the state relative to our population and if you look at the other counties, we have a relatively high collection rate."

The penalty for delinquent taxes is one percent or $10, whichever is greater. The amount stays fixed until Jan. 31, at which point an additional 1.5 percent is added on. However, the penalty is reduced to 1 percent if all 2014 delinquent taxes and the 1 percent penalty are paid on or before Jan. 31, according to the Summit County Treasurer’s website.

"I don’t get too concerned with dollar amounts," Forsling said. "I get concerned with multiple years. People are well aware they are not paying their taxes."

Of the top 10 taxpayers in the county, Talisker Empire Pass Hotel LLC, or the Montage Hotel, is number one, with an assessed value of $285.5 million.

There are three Montage Hotel units with delinquent taxes totaling approximately $61,900, none of which are currently under a valuation appeals process.

Grand Summit Resort Properties, the fifth highest taxpayer in the county, has more than 200 parcels with delinquent taxes, totaling no more than $5,000.

"Sometime with a lot of these multi-unit properties, we will bill the property owner and they will then collect it from individual owners and not pay until they have it all collected," Forsling said. "We don’t always know what is going on behind the scenes."

Other property owners who are top 10 taxpayers and not delinquent on their taxes include the Marriott Hotel, Canyons, and Deer Valley and Powdr Cooperation, among others.

Some notable delinquent taxpayers on the list include: United Park City Mines Company with approximately $343,000; Geary Ventures LLC almost $190,000; and Langley LLC with $78,500 in delinquent taxes.

Morinda Properties Escala Lodges reportedly showed more than 190 properties with approximately $987,700 in delinquent taxes. But Forsling said her office was notified on Wednesday of a full incoming payment for multi-year delinquencies on all parcels.

She referred to Escala Lodges as an "annual challenge."

"They are like Grand Summit in that they have many parcels and they collect directly from their property owners," Forsling said. "When its large properties like this, they may find it’s smarter financially to hold off on paying."

Forsling said generally, private property owners are "absolutely going to pay their taxes," but with larger developers it isn’t as much of a priority.

"Oftentimes, there are issues going on in the background that are not resolved by the due date or they are undergoing an evaluation appeal," Forsling said. "For many people, it is very frightening to not make your property tax payment when it’s due, but we work with taxpayers all the time to help and make sure they don’t lose their property. Even that takes multiple years and we can make payment arrangements and to help people out."

For more information about delinquent property taxes or to view the delinquent taxpayers, visit http://www.summitcounty.org , under the Treasurer’s Department, where a link to the list can be found.

Summit County


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