For first time in years, trustee publishes Hardin County delinquent tax list

Why publish this list?

We're just trying to collect these taxes.”

Hardin County Trustee Jeanie Hopper

For the first time in a decade or more, the Hardin County Trustee’s Office is publishing the list of owners of local property who owe back taxes.
Trustee Jeanie Hopper, who was first elected in 2022 to a four year term, said making the public information readily accessible in the local newspaper is “not an attempt to embarrass or humiliate anybody. We’re just trying to collect these taxes.”
According to newly appointed Hardin County Tax Attorney Martha Smith, whose contract with the county started June 3, the total amount of real property taxes owed from 2013 through 2022 as of June 20 is $2,105,991.60. That total includes interest and court costs.
She said her contract requires that a sale of tax delinquent property be held annually, and that the last such sale was held Jan. 25, 2013.
Hopper said publishing the list, which is on four pages starting on B-9 in the June 27 edition of The Courier, is also fulfilling a campaign promise.
“So many of the taxpayers have asked for this,” she said.
Some have sought the information in hopes of buying property for the back taxes owed, and others are “mad because they pay their tax and think everyone else should too,” she said.
Hopper noted that some property owners may have unpaid taxes because of incorrect mailing addresses or other errors.
To try to make the list as accurate as possible, the Assessor’s Office and Clerk and Master’s Office worked with the Trustee’s Office, and it was updated as of last Thursday morning to reflect the latest tax payments and names, she said.
Property owners with delinquent taxes are encouraged to pay as soon as possible because interest accrues monthly, Hopper pointed out.
“Should you find an error or if you no longer own a listed property,” she said, “please contact the Trustee’s Office at 731-925-8180.”