I got my tax bill like everyone else in Greenwich this year- late.
Mine arrived on July 21 for bills due July 1. I had already paid my property tax and did it online. But apparently I missed the fee that came with payment online. It was not so obvious in a bill of thousands of dollars. But with my motor vehicles bills, it stood out.
Nonetheless, you don’t see the $5 fee until the very last page. The online system shows your tax bill for at least two pages without the hidden fee, so you are lulled into thinking there is no charge until the very end. It’s not very consumer friendly and the town should not be doing this.
I had two motor vehicle tax bills – $59.14 and $87.25. A $10 fee for online payment is quite a premium on top of those bills in my opinion. I resorted to a 44-cent stamp.
Lincoln, today, July 24; I just got my auto and property tax bills. I didn’t know that I could have found out the tax amounts online earlier.
Last week, I did get one tax bill for a small boat trailer for a sunfish sailboat. It’s total annual tax is — 86 cents!! Not a bad deal.
I see elsewhere in today’s paper that many residents have complained about the lateness of the tax bills. I also note that the cover letter by the tax collector promoting himself as a cost cutter is dated JUNE 25, 30 days prior to my receipt of it. And his comments in the paper about lateness have essentially absolved him of any responsibility for timeliness by passing it all off on the software provider. That’s the problem with electing individuals for professional positions. They really don’t know what they’re doing because they lack professional credentials. In the next year or two, he’ll learn what most elected officials learn: rely on your certified staff and professional contractors and keep out of their way. Just make sure that the letter you sign is dated somewhere in a week or so of receipt.
Comment by Jay Louden — July 24th, 2010 @ 5:31 pm