Kalamazoo Refuses Woman’s Tax Payment After Mistake, Taking Her Home Instead

A Kalamazoo woman is set to lose her $160,000 house, which she already paid for in full, because of an oversight on her property tax payments. The county is refusing to accept her payment and is selling her house instead... and it's totally legal.

You may have heard Free Beer and Hot Wings speaking with the lawyer of Deborah Calley this morning, as he laid out the circumstances surrounding the shady dealings of Kalamazoo County in this matter. At first glance, the story seems pretty cut and dry -- she didn't pay her property taxes and now they're taking her home. This is not an unheard of practice... hell, this was actually the plot of 'Next Friday.' However, when you dig a little deeper, you can see that something stinks in K-Zoo.

Deborah was in an accident a couple of years ago that caused bruising on her brain and, as a result, she had trouble remembering things for a period of time. It was during that period that she missed a $2000 property tax payment for 2011. Not only was she not notified about the missed payment, but nobody mentioned it to her when she showed up to pay her 2012 property taxes either. That's why she was shocked to learn that the county was selling her home.

Calley has since tried to give them the money, but the county refuses to accept her payment... probably because they're going to net nearly $80,000 from the sale of her home. Unfortunately for her, the county is acting within Michigan law and a judge has already upheld the county's right to move forward with their intended course.

Residents are asking that people contact Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema to politely urge her to find a more reasonable resolution to this issue at (269) 384-8124.