Second tax bills went in the mail early last week as property owners have until July 17 to get them paid.

“If they don’t receive them by the first week of June, we will be glad to send a copy,” Lawrence County Treasurer Stephen Burcham said. “We did not send out any bills $2.50 or less to try to save postage and mailing costs.”

The first half taxes that were due on March 6 brought in $18,595,000 or almost $800,000 more than the first half in 2014.

“There were several levies that passed last fall, mostly fire levies and the police levy in South Point,” Burcham said. “And it is the continued efforts on collections and reducing the delinquent tax that is owed to the school districts on property taxes. I think those were efforts attributing to higher collections.”

As in the past property owners can pay taxes in person at the courthouse, by mail, online or at the following banks: Citizens Deposit, City National, Liberty Federal and U.S Bank.

Typically the second half collection is less because about 40 percent of property owners pay the whole year of taxes at the first half.

After taxes are collected and accounts are reconciled with the auditor’s office, the treasurer’s office will proceed with another tax lien sale. This could potentially have 1,000 liens.

In the past five years Burcham has conducted 10 tax lien sales and negotiated 33 sales on liens that were not sold in public auction. This has resulted in a collection of $4,838,767.36 in delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and fees. A total of 399 tax liens have been sold and 156 have been redeemed.

Burcham anticipates the sale to be at the end of August or first week of September.