Look for changes with property tax statements

SIKESTON -- If you haven't received your personal property tax statement yet, it is time to track it down.

County collectors for Scott, New Madrid and Mississippi counties confirmed Friday that all their personal property tax statements have been mailed.

"If you haven't received a tax bill and you think you should have, you need to contact the collector's office," said Scott County Collector Mark Hensley.

Some area residents have already paid their personal property taxes.

"We've been busy this week -- people are getting their tax statements," Faye Elliot, collector for Mississippi County, said Friday. "We mailed them out the 9th."

"Everything's running really smooth," agreed Dewayne Nowlin, collector of revenue for New Madrid County. "Collections are coming in through the mail."

All three county collectors said there are some changes their county residents should look for.

"The main change will be that this year we are offering an Internet payment option," Hensley said of Scott County. "The Internet address is on the top of the new statements."

Hensley said there is an additional charge to pay online.

"It's 2.75 percent for credit cards or it's $2.75 for an e-check," he said. "These fees are fees that the processing company charges because the county can not use taxpayer funds for processing, so that cost has to be forwarded to the taxpayer."

Nowlin said the fees in New Madrid County for online payments are exactly the same as Scott County's as he began using the same processing company for 2005.

"Last year was the first year, but it's been doing really well for us," he said.

Nowlin noted the rate for online payments "is a little bit cheaper than coming in and paying by credit card on the machine. Our point-of-sale machine is 3.6 percent, so there's a little bit of savings there."

There are some changes for New Madrid County taxpayers to look for, however.

"We have started collecting for the city of New Madrid," Nowlin said. "Also we've changed our statements around -- there has been a significant cost savings by changing the statement."

There is also a change that will benefit those who like to pay in person at the courthouse.

"I've added a night drop box outside the courthouse so payments can be dropped off after hours," Nowlin said.

The big change in Mississippi County is the addition of a bar code on the statements.

"We've gone to scanning this year, so it's completely different," Elliot said. "It's just a new process for us, too, but we're willing to learn."

Elliot added that receipt cards are back this year.

"We've always given cards and the last two years we didn't because the assessor had changed it a little bit," she said. Now, "it prints it off on the bottom of the receipt. It shows the model and make of the car so they can take the card to the license bureau."

Nowlin reminded taxpayers "they have till Dec. 31 before interest and penalties are added on in January."