Delinquent Tax Bill? Wayne County Wants to Hear from You

Several Dearborn residents have been left scratching their heads in recent weeks after receiving delinquent tax notices threatening possible judicial foreclosure on their property based on tax bills they already had paid.

"This is the second time I've received a delinquent tax notice, and I'm pretty sure that I paid all of my taxes," resident Hanady Bazzi said.

Bazzi said she paid the late fee on her bill but received a new delinquent tax notice from Wayne County.

"I want to know what's going on," she said.

She isn't the only one.

Four other Dearborn residents said they too received delinquent tax notices after paying their bills.

Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz said his office hasn't had problems with tax notices in the past, however he encourages residents to call the county to resolve any outstanding questions.

"If someone has received a delinquent tax notice, it's because our office was notified by the city for uncollected taxes, so it could be a problem on the city's end," Wojtowicz said.

Courtney Skora, a representative of the Dearborn Treasurer's Office, said notices can be mailed out for numerous reasons.

"If someone missed a payment and didn't pay the late fee they will get a letter," she said.

Another reason may be due to issues with a resident's homestead tax exemption application with the state of Michigan. The credit is primarily designed to give property tax relief to senior citizens, disabled or blind persons and disabled veterans. It can only be applied to the taxpayer's primary residence.

"If the state denies someone's homestead tax credit, they will have to pay their taxes with interest," Skora said. "If the interest is not paid, they will receive a delinquent notice."

Skora said denials can go back as far as three years. For example, if a resident paid less taxes in 2011 expecting to receive the homestead credit and was later denied, he or she would be required to pay their complete tax bill with interest.

Winter tax bills were sent out the first week of December 2012. Taxes must be paid on time in order to avoid a late fee and delinquent tax notice. Skora said any money uncollected by March 1 must be referred to the county treasurer's office.

Skora said the city sends out two late notice letters a year, once in October and again in January.

"We do our best to give residents plenty of time to pay their taxes," she said.

Becki Kain said she recently received a notice after paying her bill electronically.

"The city stated that my payment, via Dearborn Federal Credit Union, was one day late," she said. "I paid, and confirmed with DFCU, all four tax payments for last year."

Dearborn officials said as of Thursday they have addressed most complaints. The treasurer's office confirmed that all of the notices were sent out for receiving payment after the due date.

Skora said summer taxes will be sent out next week, and winter taxes will be mailed during the first week of December. For questions, call 313-943-2045.

To view a list of convenient ways to pay city taxes, visit http://www.cityofdearborn.org/paymentoptions.