Dauphin County tax records show Harrisburg mayor candidate and current City Council member Lamont Jones owes $573 for his 2023 real estate taxes and another $2,054 for 2024.
The back taxes for Jones’ row house on North 16th Street are listed as delinquent by the Dauphin County Tax Claims website.
The records were referenced in a recent Facebook post by a supporter of Mayor Wanda Williams, who is running for a second term against a field of four Democrat candidates, including Jones.
Reached by PennLive Monday, Jones said he fully intends to pay the taxes he owes before the property goes to a Sheriff’s sale.
“I take my time paying my taxes. I make $20,000 a year. I’m struggling like the next person. It makes me a regular person,” Jones said.
Jones added that he has spent heavily restoring the property, which had been vacant for a decade and came with various liens.
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According to the tax claim office, city and county real estate taxes become delinquent when they are not paid in the calendar year they are due. A public listing of the delinquencies are posted on the tax office website each February.
The tax office charges .0075 percent interest for each month the delinquent taxes go unpaid. This is on top of the 15 percent penalty that’s assessed when taxes go unpaid during the calendar year.
Properties are listed for Sheriff’s sale when any delinquent taxes go unpaid by June 30 of the second year they are delinquent.
For example, Jones has until June 30 to pay the $573 due for 2023, and he has until June 30, 2026, to pay the tax balance for 2024.
In his comments to PennLive, Jones characterized the Facebook post referencing his tax situation as an attack by a Williams supporter.
“I don’t think it’s fair. People are creating a narrative about me,” he said. “It’s all going to backfire. I’m expecting an exciting night tomorrow.”
Tuesday’s race pits Williams against Jones, city Treasurer Dan Miller, community activist Tone Cook Jr. and repeat candidate Lewis Butts Jr. There are no candidates on the Republican side. Typically, the winner of the party primary goes on to take office.
Record checks by PennLive showed none of the other candidates owed delinquent real estate taxes.