In this most uncertain of years, there remains one constant – property taxes are due before 2020 turns to 2021.
Collector Michelle Worth said 197,658 tax notices were mailed out late last week to residents and businesses around Jefferson County, and while the pandemic isn’t changing that, she urged some taxpayers to reconsider how – and when – they pay their taxes.
“Every year, we have a lot of people who wait to pay until the last minute and then come to the Administration Center (in Hillsboro),” Worth said. “We’re really encouraging people not to do that this year. If you come to our office, you’ll have your temperature taken, you’ll be required to wear a mask and you’ll need to maintain social distancing. With the number of people who come in on the last week, I don’t know, with requiring 6 feet between everyone, whether everyone will be allowed to be in the building, so that will mean people will have to stand outside in the cold. We don’t want that.”
Worth said there are easier ways.
“This year, more than ever, we’re encouraging people to pay online, or through the mail,” she said. “Some banks allow you to pay directly from your account. Check with your bank about that.”
Worth, who was appointed Sept. 9 to replace former collector Beth Mahn, who resigned because of health issues, said not much will change about the taxpaying process this year.
“Everything should be pretty much the same as prior years,” she said.
Information about how to pay online and how to mail in payments will be included in the bills.
For those mailing payments, your letter must be postmarked on Dec. 31 or earlier. Waiting until the post office is closed on Dec. 31 (which falls on a Thursday) will mean it will be postmarked later, and it will be returned and subject to a late fee, by state law.
Worth said some people have to come to Hillsboro to pay their taxes, and she encouraged them to do so as soon as practical. “There are some people who have to come to the office, because there’s an error that they have to correct with the Assessor’s Office,” she said. “We’re really encouraging those people again to not wait until the last week of the year.”
Worth said her office has a drop box in the lobby.
“We’re looking at trying to get it put outside, but I don’t know what the timeline for that will be,” she said.
Worth said her office will be open during regular business hours on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
“That’s the plan, anyway,” she said. “I hope nothing happens that will change that plan.”
For those with taxable property who don’t receive a bill soon, or anyone else with a question, Worth encouraged them to call her office at 636-797-5406 or send an email to collector@jeffcomo.org.