PARIS — Town administrators are making good on the promise to continue to enforce long-ignored policies by recently foreclosing on 14 properties collectively owing $23,108 in back taxes.

According to Town Manager Amy Bernard’s report from Monday night’s selectmen meeting, the number of foreclosed properties is the same as last year.

She’s previously said the town doesn’t want to own people’s property and encouraged residents to either contact or come into the Town Office to set up a payment plan.

Town Clerk Liz Knox said by phone Tuesday that the foreclosure notices went out in December to 67 people, alerting them that if they didn’t pay within 45 days, the town would foreclose on the property.

At the end of August 2014, Bernard began trying to collect back taxes after a six-month discussion on the subject. She sent nine certified letters to people who owed a total of $35,212.

She said she found when she became manager in December 2013 that unpaid taxes had been ignored and had been a problem for the past decade.

Knox said by phone Monday that five property owners who were sent letters in August still owe a total of about $3,003.

“One of them they’re trying to work something out with us and they’re taking care of that,” she said. “I know we tried to get ahold of that one lady. (We) physically spoke to her, she was going to take care of it, (we’ve) yet to hear from her.”

The town was able to sell an eight-acre landlocked parcel off Moody Brook Road for around $5,753 to an abutter. The unpaid tax bill was $2,600, she said.

Knox said the five properties have been rolled into the 14 in foreclosure and include homes and lands.

Since the town started the foreclosure process, the property owners must pay back and current taxes through June to get their property back. The town would issue a quitclaim deed to the owner and selectmen would sign off on it.

Other long-ignored issues town administrators began to enforce within the past six months include the Sign Ordinance, for which business owners need to get Planning Board approval before erecting signs or face fines, and the townwide two-hour parking rule.  

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