Real and Personal Property Tax Bills

Real and Personal Property tax bills are expected to be mailed Wednesday, October 19, 2005.  Tax bills are mailed to the owner of record as of January 1st of the tax year.  If you sold your property in 2005, the tax bill will still be in your name and you must forward that bill to the new property owner. 

Due Dates:

Discount Amount - Due by November 30th

Face Amount - Due by December 31st

If you do not receive a tax bill, please contact City Hall at 538-4216 or email to christi.franklin@cityofmtwashington.org or dawn.fick@cityofmtwashington.org

 

Tax Rates for 2005

 

City Taxes:

             .126 / $100                                                      Real Estate      

.126 / $100                                                      Personal          

.126 / $100                                                      Inventory                                                                                 

 

 COUNTY TAXES:

             .0930/ $100                                                    Real Estate      

 

 

Real Property Tax Collection Policy

Effective April 2003

 Billing 

  1. Tax bills will be mailed on or around October 15th each year to the owner on record as of January 1 of that tax year.  Any property that has sold since January 1 until the print date of the tax bills will be updated as accurately as possible with the new owners name in a c/o (care of) field on the tax bill.  Note:  The City is only required to send the tax bills to the owner on record as of January 1, but usually the new owners that sell after January 1 will pay the taxes. 

Bill/Inquiries

  1. Bill inquiries for one to two properties will be handled in person, over the phone, fax, or via email.  This includes the amount due, payment status, etc.
  2. Bill inquiries for three to ten properties must be handled in writing.  The request can be hand delivered, faxed or emailed and will be responded to in no more than three (3) days in accordance to the Open Record Policy.
  3. Bill inquiries for more than 10 properties must be handled in person.  Pursuant to the Open Records Policy, the City must make these records available to the public.  Therefore, any person, including mortgage companies or other third parties that are requesting bill information will be required to look up this information on the tax roll at City Hall.

Collection

1.       The date the bill is “received” is determined by the postmark on the envelope.  If the payment is placed in the night drop box after 5:00pm, it will be considered “received” on the next business day.  All hand delivered payments to City Hall will be considered “received” on the date of the delivery. 

2.       The discount amount is due by November 30 each year.  If the due date falls on a weekend, the bills will be due on the following Monday. 

3.       The tax bills are due by December 31 each year.

4.       On January 1, all tax bills that remain unpaid will be considered delinquent.  The penalty and interest will be added on January 1.  Interest is added each month, but the penalty is a one time fee for that tax year.  

5.       The City does not accept partial payments.  If a payment is received for a previous month’s amount, it will be returned to the taxpayer indicating the correct amount due.  (i.e.:  discount amount received in December.)

6.       If duplicate payments are made, the person requesting a refund on their payment must submit a letter to the City Clerk indicating the following information about the tax bill:  property owner’s name, property address, lot number if they own multiple lots, amount of refund, and mailing address.

7.       If the property owner overpaid their taxes (i.e.:  face amount paid in discount period), the person requesting a refund must submit a letter to the City Clerk indicating the following information about the tax bill:  property owner’s name, property address, lot number if they own multiple lots, amount of refund, and mailing address.

8.       If a property owner is enduring hardship, the City Clerk can, at the request of the property owner, set up a payment plan to pay off the taxes.  Payments will be applied toward the principal amount to allow the property owner the ability to pay off the taxes as quickly as possible.  If multiple years are due, the oldest tax bill shall be paid first, unless otherwise approved by the City Clerk.

9.       On February 1 of each year, the City Clerk will present the City Council with a list of unpaid property tax bills. 

10.   All tax bills that remain delinquent on May 1 will be advertised in the Pioneer News for two consecutive weeks. (120 days after they first become delinquent.)

11.   All tax bills that remain delinquent on June 1 will have liens filed against the property.