 |
Summer is here and taxes are on their way! I thought I’d use this opportunity to highlight a few items as you should be receiving your bills on July 1st .
First of all, congratulations to Tricia Coblentz, Tax Collector, for an outstanding collection rate this year of over 98% -- the highest in many years. She has also collected over $900,000 in delinquent taxes, including interest and fees.
Payment is due no later than August 3rd with no late penalty. Beginning on August 3rd, the penalty for late payments is an initial 3% and then 1.5% per month thereafter (18% annually) as required by state law. Tax payers tell us daily about reasons, very good reasons, that their taxes went unpaid and have now accrued interest. We totally understand; however, tax interest is not something the Tax Collector or Town can waive for any reason – it is a state law and must be enforced by the Town no matter the individual circumstances.
New this year is the ability to pay your tax bill by credit card online only through www.officialpayments.com or by calling 800.272.9829. Payments made in the office may be made by cash or check. We are not set up to accept credit cards in the office as of this moment in time. Taxpayers are urged to mail in your payments or use the credit card service to avoid lines.
Like last year, this is the only billing you will receive for this year’s real estate taxes. You can still pay in two payments – July and January, but we won’t be sending a follow-up billing in January. This one change instituted last year saves the Town several thousands of dollars – a savings already calculated when the budget was developed.
Tricia began working closely last year with the vendor who prints and mails our bills to cut down on the number of envelopes sent to each household. She continues to pursue that process so that all motor vehicles with the same exact name will go on one bill in the same envelope (versus five different bills for five different cars). Again, this year there is one “total” page and one envelope per name.
As you know, State lawmakers are still addressing the State’s budget at this time. Therefore, while the amount of revenue from the State of Connecticut indicated on your tax bill has been incorporated into the adopted budget, this revenue must be considered an estimate as the State budget had not been passed at the time of the preparation of the billing file.~
A quick reminder In closing. If you think you may be eligible to apply for any of the following programs and need more information, check out our website (www.colchesterct.gov) or call the Assessor’s office at 537-7205: “Colchester’s Tax Relief Program for Homeowners who are Elderly or Permanently and Totally Disabled,” “State Elderly Homeowners and Totally Disabled Individuals Tax Relief Program,” “Veterans’ and Disable Veterans’ Programs,” “Elderly Renters’ Rebate Program,” “Disability Exemption Program,” “Blind Exemption,” and “Colchester Hayward Volunteer Fire Department Member Tax Exemption.”
Tricia Coblentz (Tax Collector), Suzie Clark (Assistant Tax Collector) and Annette Kluepfel (Tax Collections Clerk) are looking forward to helping you if you have any questions or concerns. They can be reached at 537-7210. If your question is about an assessment issue, John Chaponis, Assessor, can be contacted at 537-7205.
As always, my door is open and I look forward to continuing to serve you.
| |
