WISCASSET, Maine — Several Wiscasset residents will be given 60 days to pay their delinquent tax bills or receive an eviction notice from the town.
The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a notice of pending eviction to the occupants of tax-acquired properties.
The notice will be sent to about 13 people with residences on the tax-acquired property list that have not made payments toward their delinquent tax bills in more than a year. If the delinquent taxes are not paid in 60 days, the town will begin eviction proceedings.
“We don’t want to do this, but we have to do something,” Chairwoman Judy Colby said.
On some delinquent accounts, there have been no tax payments since 2009, she said. Mobile homes make up the majority of the tax-acquired properties affected by the selectmen’s decision.
Wiscasset Police Chief Jeffrey Lange proposed first making sure the mobile homes were occupied before sending the notice. Several properties on the list appear to be vacant, he said.
For more than a year, selectmen have debated the best process to follow to handle Wiscasset’s tax-acquired properties and work with residents who are delinquent on their tax bills.
Selectmen voted more than a year ago to sell tax-acquired land lots, but delayed taking action on residences. There are currently about 29 tax-acquired properties in Wiscasset.