Local News

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning approved an order creating a new policy for the disposition of tax-foreclosed real property.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the order, which is the result of a United States Supreme Court ruling in 2022. The nation's highest court ruled that if a property is foreclosed upon due to delinquent taxes, it is unconstitutional for the government entity to keep the proceeds of a sale over the amount of taxes owed.

In order to satisfy the ruling, Josephine County's new policy on tax-foreclosed properties gives the prior owner of record 180 days to make a claim that allows them to keep the property if they pay the past due taxes. The new policy applies to all properties foreclosed upon since May 25, 2017 -- a period of over six years.

The Commissioners then approved an order returning a foreclosed property to its prior owner of record in exchange for full payment of delinquent taxes.

The Board opened the meeting with a public hearing on the annexation of three properties into the Josephine Community Library District. After Library Director Kate Lasky testified that the property owners had petitioned to be included, the Commissioners unanimously approved the annexations of properties on Board Shanty Road in Murphy, Saint Parris Drive in Williams and Lower River Road in Grants Pass into the taxing district.

During Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from two people asking the panel to reconsider the sale of the Pipe Fork property near Williams, a man with questions about building permits on forested lands in a potential fire district and a woman with concerns about alleged voter fraud.