CALUMET — The village of Calumet is confronted with a shortfall of more than $93,000 as a result of property owners defaulting on their property taxes and is considering possible ways to alleviate the problem.

Trustee Virginia Dwyer said that according to documents she received from Houghton County on October, 17, back property taxes are owed on 37 out of 62 properties on Fifth and Sixth streets alone.

“When we got this list,” said Dwyer, “We learned there’s $93,000 in delinquent taxes from 2021 to 2023.”

Dwyer said it’s a game for many property owners, whereby they are charged a delinquent fee, then pay their taxes the third year, the limit at which they avoid paying the taxes.

“Here’s the kicker with it,” Dwyer said. “When they don’t pay their taxes, the (County) treasury gets them. And the treasury makes good with (getting) that tax money to us, but the treasurer is stuck with it.”

For example, Dwyer said, there is a particular person on the delinquent list who has not paid property taxes for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. After the three years, the delinquent property is posted at a tax sale, or the owner flips the property for the tax amount.

“There’s many, many people on here that play that game,” Dwyer said. “They don’t pay this year, they didn’t pay last year, but they will probably pay next year’s so the property does not go to the treasurer (tax sale).”

By paying one year at a time, she said, the property owner stays three years in arrears.

Several delinquent properties are currently under renovation with the stated intention of being opened for retail business, for which many have received grants and financial assistance.

Dwyer said that when she reads the names of the property owners on the list, it’s disturbing.

“And it really irks me when I look at this list and see who’s on it,” she said. “My opinion is if we’re going to give you a service, if we’re going to help you out with MECS grants, and we’re going to give you this service to make this town viable, you need to be accountable for your taxes.”

Among the services she pointed to was the village’s looking at ways to continue removing snow from walkways in front of businesses without raising the fees for doing that. The village’s ordinance code states that property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks adjacent to their properties, whether in the business district or residential neighborhoods.

In 2021, there was $18,500 in delinquent taxes, Dwyer said. In 2022, the amount had increased to $42,700.

“This year, it’s $32,693,” she said, “for a total of $93,978.”

Trustee Ranville said that while some people may or may not be paying for snow removal in the business district, that is a separate fee schedule from property taxes. For instance, he said, there may be people who pay for the snow removal, but don’t pay their property taxes.

Village Manager Megan Haselden said she is not sure on the legality of not offering a service or offering a different rate for a service based on whether someone doesn’t pay their property taxes.

Trustee Peggy Germain also addressed the issue saying that she too felt that snow removal fees and property taxes were separate schedules.

“If they have arrears on snow removal from last year,” said Germain, “they have to clear that up before we provide the service this year.”

The suggestion was made that if property taxes were increased in the district, snow removal fees could be eliminated. No decision was reached at the meeting.