Warren County officials are preparing for the county’s upcoming tax sales.

Bret Baille, county finance director, told county commissioners recently that he is sending out mailers for the next tax sale. That sale is being held May 29 with 15 parcels going up for sale.

“The most I’ve had since being director was 71 (in 2017), which is kind of crazy to think about 71 parcels at the judicial sale,” Baille said. “We’re down to 15 this year. I was hoping for a few more to fall off, but we’ll see what happens. Usually it’s like the day before they come in and try to clear it up ”

Baille said the sale is at 1 p.m. today, so anyone with a property at risk of being auctioned can pay the delinquent taxes until about an hour before the auction to take the property out of the sale.

Today’s sale is one of three sales the Warren County Tax Claim Bureau participates in each year to consolidate the lands in the county that have been taken for delinquent taxes.

In September, the bureau will conduct an Upset Sale; the first sale that a property must go through. At this sale, properties that are two years delinquent in taxes will be auctioned. Bidders in the sale will be responsible for all past due taxes, liens, mortgages, etc.

If the property remains unsold, it will go to the Judicial Sale the following year, typically in May. For a Judicial Sale, the bid price will start at costs only and the property will be sold free and clear as long as all parties are properly notified, minus ground rent.

If the property remains unsold, it will be placed on the county’s Repository List. The Tax Claim Bureau keeps an updated listing of the properties sitting in the repository, with those who want to bid on them required to fill out a bid form. The county will then present the highest bid to the three taxing districts for their approval. Property is sold free and clear of past due taxes and liens, minus ground rent. Baille said the county typically has about $750,000 a year returned as delinquent, though he’s interested to see what happens in January 2026 after the county’s change to split tax billing.

Baille said he will begin posting for the Judicial Sale sometime in June with about 900 properties on the list to be posted. That’s more than the 776 properties that were available in 2024, though Baille is hoping to see the number drop before he starts sending out postings for the June tax sale.

“I used to wait another month to post,” Baille said. “I’ll kind of bump that up a little bit earlier hoping that people come in and pay because it helps with the research I’ve got to do later on just try to get those numbers down.”

Baille and Nathaniel Schmidt, county solicitor, have been tweaking the county’s court filings to make sure the county is following the state’s real estate tax sale laws. One change is how the county collects its commissions, which Baille said could net the county a bit more money each year.

“The tax sale law is pretty clear that the county, as the tax collecting organization, takes the top 5% of all revenue that comes in on sales,” Schmidt said. “I’m working with Phil (Gilbert, county director of tax claim) to make sure that the program he’s using um accurately reflects that so that’s captured up front and then the amounts paid out on the claims in order of priority are reflected in the spreadsheet.”