Death and taxes are life's two certainties.
The Montgomery County Trustee's Office will extend its hours in
February to make certain one of them does not catch you by surprise.
Beginning Saturday, the
trustee's office will open its door every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to
noon to offer more opportunities to pay county taxes.
Deadline to pay is Feb. 29. Residents who don't meet the deadline
will accrue 1.5 percent interest per month or an annual rate of 18
percent.
"We all live busy lives, and it's difficult to find time during
the weekdays to come by and pay your taxes or apply for county
property tax relief," Trustee Brenda Radford said.
"Our Saturday morning hours in February make life just a little
bit easier for Montgomery County's taxpayers who work during the
week and are unable to visit the Trustee's Office during our normal
office hours."
Radford said about 500 residents took advantage of the additional
Saturday hours last year.
Taxpayers also have several other options to submit their
payments without having to make a trip downtown.
Property taxes can be mailed to the Trustee's Office or paid
online, which charges a 2 percent fee for credit card or 1 percent
fee for an e-check.
F&M Bank, Legends Bank and Planters Bank branches also will
accept payments, though bank employees will not be able to answer
tax-related questions, Radford said.
As of Thursday, Radford's office has collected 52 percent of the
county's 2007 property taxes, which she said was on pace with the
previous year's collection. Radford anticipates collecting about 91
percent of property taxes with the remaining 9 percent becoming
delinquent.
Total collection of property taxes is expected to reach $73.9
million, Radford said, which is the county's primary source of
revenue.
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