City of Poughkeepsie Will Cancel Annual Tax Lien Sale

POUGHKEEPSIE – City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison announced that the City will defer its annual sale of real estate tax liens, affording real property taxpayers who are behind more time to make payment to the City before a lien is placed on the property.

Mayor Rolison said: “A once-in-a-century pandemic continues to cause immense hardship in our community and our nation. If there is one thing we learned from the housing crisis and resulting recession of more than a decade ago, it is that the preservation of homeownership must become a priority earlier in the economic downtown. We also know that a single vacant and abandoned home can pull down property values in an entire neighborhood and will quickly become a magnet for other challenges as well. In my recent budget message, I said that we will not go backward in the face of this crisis, that doesn’t just mean some of us, it means all of us.”

City Administrator Marc Nelson said: “One of my favorite stories is ‘The Little Engine That Could’. For such a small city, Poughkeepsie oftenis at the forefront of change. From transit consolidation to police reform, we see more municipalities looking at how Poughkeepsie is doing things. Skipping the tax lien sale this year will not only help those in need of additional time to pay, but it will also afford the city an opportunity to analyze its historical reliance on lien sales as an annual revenue stream.”

Taxpayers who have been notified of a pending tax lien sale, applicable to their 2020 property taxes, may disregard that notice and are encouraged to contact the Tax Office at 845-451-4029 to make payment arrangements.