Tax-forfeited property sales in Hinds County generate more than $414,000 for cities, schools and the county

The Mississippi Link Newswire.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann handed Hinds County officials a $414,265.67 check today representing proceeds from a tax-forfeited property auction earlier this fiscal year and other general sales.

“With the implementation of online auctions, citizens are able to go online and bid on property in a matter of minutes,” Hosemann said. “This has allowed us to return more property to the tax rolls and more money to local schools and governmental entities, like those within Hinds County.”

The Public Lands Division held an online property auction in July-August 2017, which generated a majority of the sales. Including other sales since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2018 outside of the property auction, the Secretary of State’s Office has restored more than 440 parcels to the tax rolls in Hinds County. The sold parcels include the Southport Mall Shopping Center, located at Highway 80 and Ellis Avenue, which has been vacant for years.

Money raised through the sales of tax-forfeited property in Hinds County will be distributed in varying amounts to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, Chancery Clerk and Sheriff; the cities of Clinton, Jackson and Terry; and Hinds, Jackson and Clinton Public Schools.

“Every dollar we receive is another dollar we can spend on important city services, like police and fire protection,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said. “Most importantly, though, we’re seeing redevelopment and reinvestment in land which has been dormant in our neighborhoods. That is good news for Jackson, Hinds County, and the state.”

In recent years, successful tax-forfeited auctions in Greenville, Greenwood/Leflore County, Hancock County, Hinds County, Jackson, McComb, Meridian, Pearl River County, Rankin County, Waveland, Vicksburg and Yazoo City have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mississippi schools, cities and counties.

For more information about parcels forfeited for nonpayment of ad valorem taxes, visit http://www.sos.ms.gov/Public-Lands/Pages/Tax-Forfeited-Lands.aspx or call (601) 359-5156.