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For the fourth time in five years, the spring installment property tax bills will be late in being issued.
A joint statement has been issued on behalf of the Wells County Assessor, Auditor and Treasurer advising local government entities that once again this year, tax bills due on May 10 will be late, and delays are also expected to the tax distribution later in the year.
The problem is not unique to Wells County, and in fact, historically Wells County has coped better than most with the problems.
The late issue of tax bills means that there will be a delay in tax money coming in to the county, as people don’t usually pay their bills until they know how much they are required to pay. Thus, the tax distributions later in the year will also be delayed as a consequence.
This has the potential to cause real problems as it means that funds that should normally be available to local government entities by the end of June will not now be available until possibly September or October.
The first real measure of this came at the Markle Town Council meeting on Wednesday when Clerk-Treasurer Carolyn Hamilton advised council members and town employees that the town will need to keep a tight belt over the summer months, having received the notification of this delay earlier in the day.
For Markle, faced this year with major, unplanned expenditure on repairs to its sewer system and several roads, this will not be easy. Council President Tamra Boucher feels that the town should be able to cope with this year’s delays, provided nothing else goes wrong.
It certainly won’t be an easy few months for the town however.
The delay is not expected to impact Zanesville. Clerk-Treasurer Julie Christian advised that last year, when a similar delay occurred, she applied for the emergency funds, as being new to the job, she was not sure if the delay would impact the town.
She reported no problems with securing the emergency advance funds, and was confident that this year the town would be able to cope without an advance.
Three reasons have been provided for the delays this year:
— Delayed approval by the state of the county’s ratio study, which compares sales with assessments to confirm equality (due in July 2007 but not completed until January 2008).
— A large number of appeals of assessed property values.
— The length of time taken to implement changes instituted by the State Legislature that impact 2008 tax bills.
This year, Wells County faced 450 appeals as a result of the assessments to property values sent out to property owners. While county officers worked overtime to help process these appeals, the sheer volume has prevented the job from being completed quickly.
Given that there had already been a six-month delay at state level in the approving of the county’s ratio study, the whole process was facing deadline difficulties from the start.
While the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has in the past established a process for provisional tax billing, counties that have used this method in the past have found it more chaotic than helpful.
Wells County officials therefore feel it more prudent to delay the process and get it right the first time, than to cause additional problems with a provisional billing system. Allen County is taking the same path as Wells County, and both hope to have a summer due date for tax billing.
County officials do have some funds available, as state officials have released the first distribution of Property Tax Replacement Credits (PTRC) and Homestead money, and will issue another distribution in late April or early May. Wells County is also making a special effort to pursue its delinquent taxpayers, and 640 letters have been sent out to this end.
Until the final tax distribution monies are available for use, the county will be using these funds for “emergency purposes.” County officials are advising government entities in need of an advance on money due to them to contact the auditor’s office.
Schools will be familiar with this procedure as they regularly request advance tax money.
In Huntington on Wednesday (see separate story, also on page 1), Republican members of the House of Representatives advised that work done on property tax reform over the last house session will create a lasting solution to the property tax issue, and that the major issues associated with property taxes have now been resolved.
If that is correct, then surely this will be the last year in which these problems occur.
frank@news-banner.com
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