Amador County – Friends of Amador County has urged Amador County officials to sell off Buena Vista Rancheria of Mewuk Indians’ land for delinquent taxes.

Amador County Treasurer and Tax Collector Michael E. Ryan in a July 27 letter responding to Friends of Amador County Chairman Jerry Cassesi, said the property owned by the Buena Vista Rancheria “became subject to tax-default and subject to sale,” which was approved by Supervisors.

Ryan scheduled a tax sale in March 2011, but the property was withdrawn from the sale because the “taxability of the subject property” is “under challenge, and has not been resolved to date.” He said his “office has followed state law” and standard practice, noting that law allowed his office until July 1, 2014 to sell it.

Jerry Cassesi, in a July 21 letter to Ryan said that in 1995, “property taxes on the parcel ceased to be paid,” though “all the previous owners of the property considered that parcel Fee land and paid property taxes until 1995.”

Cassesi said Amador County Supervisors consider “this parcel to be Fee land as clearly pointed out in numerous court documents filed by the County.” He said “we believe the law requires that this parcel be treated exactly like any other Fee land for which taxes have not been paid in over 10 years,” and requested “that your office put this parcel up for sale as required.”

Ryan noted that his office was “not privy to any litigation involving the County,” and “it is the function and duty of the County Assessor to determine whether a property ownership is in fee title,” and determine that a “property is subject to assessment for property taxation.”

Ryan said it was “somewhat misleading” to say taxes were not paid since 1995. The “property is shown on the 1995-1996 fiscal year” Amador County Tax Roll as being assessed to Oliver Enos and Donnamarie Potts. Ryan in the letter said a “handwritten notation on this Tax Roll, made by the County Auditor’s office and dated Nov. 15, 1995, indicates the property taxes for that year were cancelled,” with the further notation of “Exempt.”

Ryan said for fiscal years 1996-2004, “the subject property was not assessed” on County Tax Rolls, “and no property taxes were shown as due for those years. Furthermore the property tax records maintained by this office show no unpaid taxes on this property prior to the 2004-2005 fiscal year.”

The Buena Vista property was added to the County Tax Roll in 2004-2005, and “became tax-defaulted on July 1, 2005,” Ryan noted, saying: “As of the date of this letter, neither these nor any of the subsequent property taxes that have been billed on this property have been paid.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.