By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM — The pursuit of taxes due would go on for years and years with the foreclosure tool. 

Then the state changed the rules and allowed towns to collect back taxes through tax sales.

Foreclosures used to be the only way towns could collect back taxes. 

“It took years and years and the town spends a lot of money pursuing,” according to Melissa A. Alden, collector of Revenues for the town and district of Putnam and the Water Pollution Control Authority. 

Tax sales are now the go-to method of collecting. Putnam’s tax sale is Aug. 15. 

This is the second year that the town is holding a tax sale.

A Bridgeport attorney specializes in helping towns hold tax sales and Putnam is using this attorney for its upcoming tax sale at the Town Hall.

According to the state statute for tax sales, the towns set their criteria for their tax sales. 

The “amount of delinquency” can be the amount of money due and/or the number of years delinquent.

It applies to all delinquent accounts, residential and commercial.

In Putnam, she said, the town’s criteria  is three years unpaid and/or $5,000. For the Water Pollution Control Authority, it’s more than $1,000 and/or 18 months.

The lineup of those to be paid starts with the town, then the Water Pollution Control Authority, the IRS, and state taxes. 

Amounts due to banks are further down the list.

“The town will get paid, no matter what,” Alden said.

This year there are 19 accounts (15 properties) with $128,000 due lined up for the Aug. 15 tax sale for the town and the Special Services District at the Town Hall. 

For the Water Pollution Control Authority it’s more than $40,700.

There were 26 accounts to start with, Alden said. 

Some on the list were delinquent accounts that set up a payment schedule and then did not follow through with payments. 

The town will not be setting up another payment schedule with those owners, she said.