Second Installment 2021 bills to be delayed 6 months or more … appeal review delayed as well
April 15, 2022 6
The blame game is well underway as County officials signaled a significant delay in the delivery of Second Installment 2021 tax bills.
PTS projects the bills—issued in June and due by August on a typical year—won’t go out until late Q4 2022, with a delay into Q1 2023 possible.
On the flip side, the delay means homeowners across the county have extra time to appeal their 2021 assessments. Ordinarily, at this point in the year one would have no other option than to pony up for the Second Installment. If your property was reassessed in 2021 or is presently over-assessed, the elongated schedule presents a unique opportunity to make sure your assessment receives proper attention.
The 2021 problems cannot be laid at the feet of Covid-19, or any complication tied to the pandemic. This time, sweeping data and mainframe changes instituted by the Assessor’s Office and tripped over by the Board of Review (and likely by the Assessor’s Office itself) seem to be at the root of the problem.
Longtime Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. called the implementation “disastrous,” while the Assessor’s Office came back implying flat footedness on the part of the Board.
We won’t comment except to point out the obvious: The timely adjudication of appeals we submit on your behalf is dependent upon this system. Their delays become our delays. If you appealed your assessment with us in 2021, don’t worry. Your appeal is still very much in the works.
Once we have our results, we will issue letters to your homes and emails to your inboxes within two business days, and any appeal savings will be reflected on your 2021 Second Installment property tax bill. Here’s a few additional factors to consider regarding the delay:
1. Do not view this as a tax holiday. Practice good saving and set aside the funds to cover both bills aside as soon as your budget allows. Your First Installment 2022 property tax bill will likely follow right on the heels of the delayed Second Installment 2021 bill.
2. Due to this delay, the County will be short $16 billion it needs to continue funding itself, due to this delay. Undoubtedly, when local governing bodies are forced to borrow (on a poor credit score, to boot) to cover their short-term obligations, the cost of interest is passed on to you.
Efficiency in government operations is essential. It’s interruption costs all, and, for this, Kaegi cannot lay blame on any other party. The buck stops with the executive.