Couple threatened with property tax lien over $15 late fee on water bill

By Andrea Osmun

Center Ossipee resident Mary Spencer is livid over a notice she recently received stating that if she doesn't pay a $15 late fee on her water bill by April 30, the town will put a tax lien on her property.Spencer and her husband Adam are unemployed and living on less than $300 a week, she said Friday. They have paid all of their water and property tax bills but haven't had the money to pay a late fee that was incurred after she paid her water bill late March 2, she said.Spencer has lived in Center Ossipee for the past 10 years. After moving to New England from Illinois, she purchased a 1,000-square-foot, 200-year-old home in Center Ossipee, which she said was a "dump," and renovated it by herself for eight years. Her home, she said, was featured in Early American Life magazine, the culmination of her hard work and accomplishment. Spencer met Adam, a graphic designer from Wolfeboro, and they were married almost two years ago, she said. In October, Adam was laid off from his job and since then has been diligently looking for work, she said. Spencer is self-employed, with an online antiques business that doesn't make much money, she added.On Feb. 12, the Spencers received a notice of delinquent taxes. Spencer said she paid the $117 water bill March 2, minus the $15 late fee. On Thursday, the town sent out an additional $18 fee along with a warning that the Spencers may receive a tax lien on their property if the fees are not paid in full by April 30 at 4:30 p.m."I've always paid my taxes and bills," she said. "Every time we paid our tax bill, and we told them we're unemployed. We paid the water bill, but we couldn't pay the $15 late fee. We have to prioritize because we need to eat."Spencer estimates the town has paid about $40 in postage to send her and her husband all of the notices they've received regarding the $15 late fee. She reiterated that she and her husband are not "delinquents," don't have credit cards or go out."This is the height of pettiness and irresponsibility," she said of the town's efforts to collect the late fee. "They must be doing this to other people, too. This is a little town with no heart. We'd move tomorrow if we could."Tracy Cragan, Center Ossipee's assistant town clerk and tax collector, said the additional $18 fee is for notifying a person of an impending tax lien. She added that the town of Center Ossipee is following a procedure that is set up by the state of New Hampshire."It's not that we're singling her out because she's unemployed," Cragan said, adding that regardless of how much is owed on the bill, the town has to charge the $15 late fee, as well as the $18 fee if a tax lien is forthcoming. "There are other account holders with $15 late fees."Cragan said the town used to have a water shutoff fee for those who didn't pay their bill on time, but several years ago the town imposed the tax lien instead. Randy Lyman, the chair of the water commission, was unavailable to comment Friday on when and why the change was made.When asked if the town offers any help to the unemployed and those struggling to pay their bills and taxes, Cragan said the town welfare office might be able to assist. Sam Martin, Center Ossipee's welfare officer, said the couple may come and fill out a welfare application and find out if they qualify for assistance. Martin said the state has set legal guidelines for welfare assistance, which towns may adopt and/or modify. She declined to say whether people in Center Ossipee have received help with water bills in the past.