City sends nearly 400 ‘Intents to FiFa’

Decatur is sending notices to about 270 property owners who owe a total of $570,000 real property taxes to the city and the school system for 2012 and any other outstanding balances.  These letters provide notice that we intend to file a lien (also known as fieri facias, a “FiFa”, meaning a writ of execution) unless the taxes are paid within 30 days.

Decatur is also sending notices to over a hundred business personal property owners—mostly businesses with taxable inventory—who owe about $100,000 in taxes to the city and schools.

For comparison, Decatur sent 350 Intents to FiFa for unpaid real property taxes around this time last year.

This is, at a minimum, the third notice that we have sent attempting to collect payment.  The original bills were mailed on October 20, 2012.  Past due notices were sent on Jan. 14, 2013.  Bills are also available our website 24/7.  If the debt is owed on more than one installment, multiple notices have been sent on a regular basis since the account first became delinquent.

If the taxes owed are not paid before the 30-day deadline, a lien will be filed against the property.  A tax lien can lower a property owner’s credit score.

Property owners interested in making payment arrangements with us must apply to do so before the 30-day deadline elapses.  Such requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for residents with valid reasons, a substantial down payment, and a history of timely payments.  Even if approved for extended payment arrangements, a lien will still be set against the property to protect the city’s interests.

Please be aware that if a payment was made within the last few business days, there may have been a delay in applying your payment to your account while our bank processed the payment.  If you receive a notice but have just recently paid, please disregard the notice or call us at 404-370-4100 to confirm that your account is paid current.