Newton County Supervisors are mulling over whether the county should start conducting its tax auctions online after hearing of the benefits from a representative of the states lone online auction company during their April 1 meeting.
David Myers, who works for GovEase Land Sale Auction in Madison, Mississippi, told the board that since 2016, their company has grown to represent 72 of the 82 counties in Mississippi, hosting their auctions online.
“What we do is take as much off of Mr. Kelly’s office as possible, handling your bidders and handling payments from your bidders,” Myers said. “We come at no cost to the county, we’re a no cost platform, and how we do that is for every parcel sold we charge a $20 per parcel sold fee.” Myers added that the county would pay his company at first, then be reimbursed at the time of redemption when delinquent taxpayers come in and pay. If the county is ever dissatisfied with the service, they could opt out with no penalty.
Another benefit of taking the auction online, according to Myers, is that it would increase the overbid, bringing in more money for the county.
“After looking at your data in 2020, you guys were sitting at a 5.4 percent overbid. I think in 2019, you made about $25,000 in overbids,” said Myers of the land sale auctions. “That’s where we cast a wider net. We are, on average, between a 10-12 percent overbid rate, which essentially will double what you guys bring in with your tax sale. We have over 40,000 registered bidders, but in Mississippi it’s 20,000,” Myers continued. “What that does is we’re very good at selling properties. We’re very good at raising the price there so that more overbid means more money for the counties.”
Kelly said that he talked to surrounding counties who conduct their auctions using GovEase, and they spoke highly of the service and wouldn’t go back to holding in person auctions. He added that while companies will be getting online and buying, the same companies have been sending people to the in-person sales.
Beat 3 Supervisor Terry Vance said one of his questions was going to be if all this would eliminate that.
“Yes sir, it does. On auction day, everybody’s going to look at their computer,” Myers said. “On that day you’ll be thinking you’ll need to be doing something that day and you’ll be watching your computer.”
Board President Charles Godwin asked if this would eliminate auctions at the courthouse, would the county need to accommodate those who aren’t technologically savvy to the process and how would they do so.
Kelly said that they could set up computers at the courthouse on the day of the auctions. Myers added that the counties that came on board with them in the past had set up computers at the libraries or at the courthouse for those that would need help in participating in the online auction.
Beat 2 Supervisor Jeffery Harris reassured that Kelly planned to provide computers at the courthouse for people who have always came to the courthouse for the sales.
“You’ve got people out there that don’t have the access and have a pocket full of cash that have been coming to those steps out there for fifty years,” Harris said. “They’re going to be hot about this.”
Myers said that if they identify bidders that will be coming to the courthouse on auction day that will need help participating in the auction, they will have someone there to help walk them through the process.
At the end of the discussion, the board decided to give county residents an opportunity to give them some feedback on going to an online auction and plan to come to a decision at their next board meeting on May 6.
