Mitchell County has a good idea

Mason City Globe Gazette

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Mitchell County has a good idea, one that could save some time and make some money.

It's among the growing number of counties charging fees for canceled sheriff's sales.

In these days of growing numbers of foreclosure auctions, sheriff's officials who handle such sales find more are being canceled for various reasons, some just minutes before their scheduled start.

That leaves county officials holding the paperwork after investing their time in preparation for the sale.

Mitchell County will charge $100 for canceled sales; others are charging $50.

Whatever the fee, it will help compensate sheriff's officials for some of the time invested into preparing for the sale. .

Julie Johnson, clerk for the Mitchell County Sheriff's Department, said she has to start over with legal work if a sale is canceled. She spends five to six hours per sale and has had one auction canceled and rescheduled five times. A fee might prevent some of those things from happening. .

Taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the entire bill in such cases.

We hope all counties will seriously consider implementing such fees.

They might not amount to a huge amount of money, but every taxpayer dollar saved is important in these days of tight budgets.