County offers 2nd chance to homeowners behind on taxes | News

Shelby County Trustee David Lenoir will conduct the next Project H.O.M.E. Workshop Saturday, May 12, at the Ed Rice Community Center, 2907 N. Watkins in Frayser. The Workshop will be from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., followed by meetings with the Trustee’s representatives on site until 2 p.m.

Project H.O.M.E., (Home Ownership Made Easier) workshops are conducted monthly by the Trustee’s Community Outreach and Financial Empowerment staff along with its banking partner Regions Bank to help delinquent taxpayers prevent their properties from being sold.

During the workshops, taxpayers learn the basics of budgeting and have the opportunity to complete a spending plan and prepare an initial plan with Trustee staff to pay off their delinquent property taxes.

Those who complete the workshop receive a certificate that, combined with setting up a reasonable payment plan, prevents the sale of the property at tax sale. The tax sale team will be available to make payment arrangements and accept payments on site until 2 p.m.

“To date, more than 500 delinquent taxpayers have attended the workshops, which began last fall. The most recent was held at the Orange Mound Community Center and was attended by almost 50 taxpayers,” says Terica Lamb, Executive Director of Community Outreach and Financial Empowerment.

The workshops are an outgrowth of the Bank on Memphis Initiative; the joint city/county effort was launched in 2010 by Lenoir and Memphis Mayor A C Wharton.

“This initiative was created to encourage the city’s thousands of citizens, who do not have traditional banking relationships, to open up a bank account, begin establishing credit and more effectively track their spending and saving,” said Lenoir.

Project H.O.M.E. workshops are scheduled every month through November. Check out the trustee’s website or the Shelby County Trustee’s Facebook page for dates and times.

For more information, or to register for the workshops, call Terica Lamb at 901-432-4882.

Information provided by the Shelby County Trustee’s Office.