PROVO — A filing glitch at the County Recorder's Office has landed a piece of public property in Alpine on the delinquent property tax list. And, unless someone takes care of the $2,200 tax bill, a public trail could end up on the auction block.
Alpine city officials apparently failed to designate as open space the trail portion of a plat for the Silverleaf subdivision recently submitted to the county for recording.
County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to waive the interest and penalties that have accrued on the nonpayment while noting reluctantly that they cannot waive the tax simply because the city made a mistake.
Commissioner Gary Herbert said it's a situation that on its face doesn't make sense. "It's one of those things where the law gets in the way of common sense."
Commissioner Jerry Grover said it boils down to a fairness issue, noting the city, as a public entity, should be held to the same rules that apply to private property owners.
"We make others who come in prove why the taxes should be waived," Grover said.
"It was an inadvertent mistake. There wasn't any attempt to get away with anything," Herbert responded. "Now the city has to take taxpayer money to pay the tax to protect the taxpayer."
Alpine City Recorder Janis Williams, who was at the meeting representing the City Council, said she doesn't know what will happen next.
Williams said the trail was marked properly on the papers for the first phase of the subdivision but was not clearly marked on papers for the second phase.
Herbert said the city could find itself being held hostage to reacquire the land if city officials decide not to pay the tax. Herbert said the property could be sold for the price of the taxes due at a tax auction. The buyer could use ownership as leverage against the city if it wants to keep the trail open, Herbert said.
Herbert said that while an existing easement on the property might provide some protection to the city, in 20 years the ownership issue could become a big problem.
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