Twice-Year Tax Bills Discussed

Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, January 8, 2013

PRINCE EDWARD – Twice a year real estate tax bills are a staple for area counties, but Prince Edward still has the one a year option and-for those who missed it-bills were due in December.

While County supervisors have not formally asked for the double dip option, the concept of switching was bantered about in December's special election for County treasurer.

In any event, the County must first approve the move to twice a year tax collections. New County Treasurer Donna Nunnally noted that she had talked with some of the board members. Money-wise, she affirmed, it's going to cost the county.

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She noted, “…I don't know if it's gonna be something that will happen in the near future. You know, I will support…the board on what they decide, but I do want to let…the citizens of Prince Edward know that they can pre-pay their taxes throughout the year instead of the bill hitting them…December 5. They can pay…monthly…every other month, every six months, however they decide they want to do it, they can pre-pay and when the bills go out in October, the money's already applied to their bill so…they're not hit so hard at the end of the year.”

Nunnally would also add that she doesn't know how it could be done to make it cost-worthy for the county.

“There's been a lot of talk about twice a year billing,” noted now retired Treasurer Mable Shanaberger in a December interview. “That's come up two or three times while I've been treasurer. I guess there are a lot of advantages to the taxpayer, but we have always taken money whenever somebody wanted to give it to us. We've not advertised that maybe the way we should have.”

Individuals can simply look at what they paid in the current year and space that amount over time for the next year. When the tax bill comes, the amount already paid would be deducted.

A lot of people, Shanaberger cited, do that now.

Shanaberger noted in an interview with The Herald that there are a number of reasons why she has not been that enthusiastic about twice a year billing, citing that the commissioner's office is going to have to have all the information to the treasurer's office much earlier. While noting she is not sure just what will be involved, she assessed that an additional employee could be required to be able to get everything done.

“And, once we have that information, we would have to get it to the printer who does our tax bills, send them out-which would be the cost for the printing and the postage. We would have lines with the first billing due date.”

Twice a year billing, she also assessed, started in a lot of places because they needed the money in the middle of the year. Prince Edward, she offered, has been in pretty fair financial shape.

Then, too, she notes, bills are sent out a second time in October with long lines again.

She noted that “you have additional printing and postage and all of that so it just doubles up the expense and doubles up the work” at those two particular times.

If the county goes to twice a year billing, Shanaberger also highlighted, and the treasurer's office is busy getting out the first installment bills and collecting that, it would cut into the time available for collections, for getting liens out.

“…I have never thought that the advantages of it are greater than the disadvantages of it,” Shanaberger said.