ROCKLAND, Maine — The number of liens placed on properties by the city this year increased from last year.
There were 121 liens filed Sept. 30 in the Knox County Registry of Deeds. This is up from 106 filed last year, but slightly less than in 2024 when 123 were filed.
The fewest liens filed in Rockland for a year came in 2021 when there were 71. The most ever filed was 387 in 1992 during a deep nationwide recession. Since the early 1990s, the taxes for properties with mortgages are rolled into mortgage payments and the financial institution will pay the taxes if the property owner is unable and the property is at risk of being foreclosed.
Property taxes unpaid as of Sept. 30 amounted to $501,397. The liens are for taxes billed in September 2025.
The property owners have 18 months to pay off the liens or the properties will automatically be foreclosed on by the city in March 2028 as is dictated by state law.
The largest liens were placed on 500 Main St. and 497 Main St. which each owe about $20,000 in unpaid property taxes.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.