Foundations is a regular series looking at the fundamentals of local government and business, examining the lesser-known and under appreciated parts of community life. This week, Foundations explores the people and the office that makes tax collection work for Sullivan County. 

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — As Sullivan County’s budget process continues, the headlines have been dominated by a proposed property tax increase. While intense attention is paid to the dollar amounts associated with taxes in Sullivan County, people might not know the large group of people who work behind the scenes to collect taxes.

Those people work for the Sullivan County Treasurer’s office, headed by treasurer Kathleen Lara. Lara was elected in 2025, taking over from long-time treasurer Nancy Buck. She previously worked alongside Buck as her deputy treasurer for 11 years. 

Lara said that, while the duties of the treasurer’s office are multifarious, the big thing the office is known for is property taxes.

“There’s actually so many things that the treasurer does, but obviously the main thing, and I think the people know this office for most of all, is property taxes and the foreclosure,” Lara said. “I think 

the big thing that people know this office for is property taxes, and it’s what I know like the back of my hand.”

One of the most notable and visible parts of the property tax cycle is property foreclosures. Lara laid out the process, saying that it takes a while for a property to start the foreclosure process, which allows people to pay back their owed taxes.

“The notices that we send out in September are 18 months after the original bill was issued. We start foreclosure, and then people have six months,” Lara said. “People have till March 31 to pay… Some people are eligible for installment agreements. Some people are not. Commercial properties and vacant land are not.”

Lara said that she doesn’t want anybody to get to the point where their property is foreclosed on and sold at the tax auction. However, she also wants to make sure that the county is collecting what it’s owed, and that if people don’t pay their taxes it only adds a tax burden to other taxpayers.

“There’s still functions of government that have to happen,” Lara said. “Towns get made whole, and the county gets their money in drips and drabs. But everybody else has to cover what you’re not paying until you pay.”

To that aim, Lara said that the treasurer’s office said they’re doing outreach to make sure that people pay their taxes on time. Lara said that sometimes people don’t get bills in the mail, or that addresses get truncated or confused, so these outreach efforts have been successful.

“We have reached out to people. That’s one thing we really pride ourselves on,” Lara said. “We have literally cut the number of return mail that we get by a third because all we really want people to do is pay their taxes… our foreclosure numbers are low because we’re getting fewer and more and more people are actually knowing about it and being able to pay their taxes, which is the ultimate goal.”

Lara said that she is willing to work with taxpayers if they reach out to her office, but she can’t make exceptions. Lara said that her job “is strictly dictated by real property tax law,” so she and her office have to follow strict rules and protocols about foreclosure.

“I want to treat everybody the same,” Lara said. “I think that this office has an excellent reputation as being that, but it’s because we follow the law.”

Lara said that ultimately, it comes down to education. She urged taxpayers to make sure their address is right with their local assessor and to reach out if they have questions about taxes or need help.

“We want people to be educated. We years ago started putting on the back of our notices frequently asked questions because people just didn’t understand the process,” Lara said. “Check with your town assessor, make sure that you have the right address on file, or that you’re getting your mail from the towns. If you don’t know, call me or call your town assessor. We’re always here to help, and if we can’t help you, we will get somebody to get you to where you need to be.”