Tax bill headache yours?

So you opened the tax bill you just received, glanced at it, and threw it in the trash.

Because your mortgage company pays the taxes out of your escrow, right? Maybe not.

A reader alerted me Wednesday to what may be a big -- make that BIG? -- problem with the recently sent out tax bills. Seems the reader's mortgage company pays the taxes, as is the case for thousands of the city's taxpayers.

The copy of the bill this reader receives is always marked ADVICE COPY. So, when the reader noticed this copy did not have that indication, they called the Tax Collector's office.

They were told that, No, theirs was not the 'advice copy,' it was the REAL BILL. It was explained that the Collector's office was on a new system, and the bills were not mailed to the mortgage companies, only to the owners of record. It was up to the owner to contact their mortgage company and have the mortgage company advise the city the mortgage company is to receive the actual tax bills.

Who knew?

The reader says there was no indication with the tax bill that any action needed to be taken by the taxpayer.

So, what kind of a headache might we have here?

It could be considerable.

PT's recollection -- from doing numerous citywide mailings -- is that there are about 16,000 households in the city. PT is aware that about half Plainfield's households are homeowners and half renters. (OK, so it's 51% - 49%, but who's counting?) PT also has a recollection -- from having produced 'bill stuffers' in the past to ride along with tax bills -- that there are about 11,000 taxpaying units in the city.

That would suggest that about 3,000 of that number represent all the multi-family, commercial and industrial owners (11,000 taxpayers minus 8,000 homeowners). Who knows how they will find out what is going on?

Of the approximately 8,000 homeowner taxpayers, what percentage have mortgages with the mortgage companies paying the taxes? Half? Even if it is not half, you begin to get an idea of the size of the problem that may have been created for taxpayers.

Are the mortgage companies on 'automatic pilot' or do they actually wait for receipt of the tax bill before paying it? If they do pay quarterly and automatically, how will they know what the correct amount is?

And if the mortgage companies don't know the correct amount or don't make any payment at all, what happens to the property owner?

Do they get their property listed as up for tax lien sale?

Inquiring property owners will want to know. Don't bother calling 753-3215 -- the public number listed for the Tax Collector's office. You will get a recording in English and Spanish explaining the delay in the mailing of the most recent tax bills.

For a human, you will have to call 753-3214. And be patient, because there may be several thousand people ahead of you.

You can also point your friends and neighbors toward this story or email it to them.

But don't contact me about what to do. The bill went into the trash after being glanced at.

-- Dan Damon

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