NATCHEZ — Bidders in the annual county tax sale may be able to make their purchase from home this year after supervisors tentatively moved to digitize the sale Monday.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors on Monday voted to approve a contract with GovEase, pending legal counsel’s review.

Ryan Matthews, president and cofounder of GovEase, told supervisors Monday that his company sets up online auctions for tax liens throughout the nation and that, in many cases, holding an online auction can actually draw in more participants.

Each year by law, Mississippi counties hold a tax sale, wherein properties with overdue taxes are auctioned off on the last Monday of August.

The successful bidder will pay the taxes due for the property plus whatever he or she overbids.

These overbids go directly to the county’s general fund.

The ease of bidding online, Matthews said, allows people who would otherwise be unable to attend a physical auction.

By drawing more people to the auction, he said competition increases, auction prices typically rise and more overbid money goes to the county’s general fund.

Adams County Tax Collector Peter Burns said digitizing the bidding process means he and two other employees would not have to be physically in the courtroom to oversee and approve the bids.

GovEase has operated in Mississippi for three years, but Matthews said the company handles online tax lien auctions in approximately 45 counties.

Calvin Butler, president of the board of supervisors, said bidders outside of Adams County could now easily participate in the auction, which could draw in even more participants.

“That’s something that the county wants to begin,” Butler said. “We actually make a profit off of it.”

With a 4.4-percent overbid rate, Adams County’s 2017 overbid sales revenue was $58,452.

Matthews said, based on previous successes in similarly sized counties, his company predicts a rise to a 12-percent overbid rate, or approximately $156,100 total revenue from the auction.

In return for moving and maintaining the online auction, GovEase takes 1.25 percent of the total proceeds from the auction, which will be paid from the overbids.

Board attorney Scott Slover said the supervisors had consulted with other counties and found favorable reviews for the company, but that a contract is still being negotiated.

“We want to make sure the county gets what its always gotten plus whatever else comes in,” Slover said.