County commission opposes senate bill

St. Joseph County’s board of commissioners voted Tuesday to oppose the passage and enactment of a measure recently fielded by the State Senate.

The target of the unanimous opposition was Bill 386, which centered on the process for collecting delinquent property taxes. It passed before the Senate – and included the endorsement of State Sen. John Proos – earlier this summer.

St. Joseph County Treasurer Judie Ratering said the issue now rests in the hands of the State House. Ratering said other county treasurers in the state oppose the bill because it would cancel the foreclosure after deadline. As a result, according to Ratering, that would potentially undo a two-year process of notifying all parties about the delinquencies and state of forfeiture.

Ratering said the current tax process has worked fine and doesn’t need to be changed because of what she described as “one isolated incident in Isabella County.”

Board chairman Allen Balog noted for the record that the Michigan Association of Counties opposes the bill, as well.