New Website Will Allow Payment Of Property Tax Online
Floyd County Tax Commissioners office announced a new tool that will be available to all Floyd County citizens startin this week.
Coinciding with the mailing of the 2008 property tax bills, a new web site is being launched relating to all the functions of the Tax Commissioner’s office.
The site, floydcountytax.com, will provide comprehensive information about ad valorem taxation, including all aspects of property tax and motor vehicle registration. Citizens will be able to access property tax information and, for the first time ever, have the option to pay their property taxes online with a credit/debit card, said Floyd County tax Commissioner kevin Payne.
Tax records for the last 7 years for every parcel of land in Floyd County will be available. Records can be searched using a variety of methods, including name, address, map number, or account number. Once a particular account is accessed, tax records, deed history information, as well as assessment and property records information will be available. This information will show square footage, the year a home was built, and even the purchase price on many properties. Included on the website is information on all the available exemptions and answers to frequently asked questions.
Property tax information has always been part of the open records act; however it has never been available unless a customer actually researched the information in the tax office. This will not only provide a convenient tool for our citizens, but it will actually free up the tax office staff. The office receives thousands of calls now for the same information that will be available online. This will improve customer service and efficiency in the office, and eventually save the County thousands of dollars in reduced labor cost. Bills paid online will be processed through Paypal, and will have a transaction fee of 2.2%. The transaction fee will continue to decrease as the volume of use increases. This will be a great tool that citizens can use to make sure their taxes have all been paid. Citizens can simply go online and search whether all their taxes are current. “I expect this will improve collections, as many people will realize they may have an outstanding bill they forgot about. It’s always better for a taxpayer to realize a bill is not paid before I have to remind them.” Payne said.
The website will also have information regarding motor vehicle registrations, tags, titles, and vehicle taxes, with the ability to pay tag renewals online. Almost everything that a customer normally has to call or actually come to our office for, can now be done from their home or office computer. “Of course, the cheapest way to pay tag renewals and property taxes is to mail in your payments. A forty two cent stamp is by far still the cheapest option “Payne stated. For those without access to computers, we have a new research room in the office with four work stations available Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm for citizens to access the same information.
“It has been my goal since I took office in January to improve our customer service while cutting cost to the taxpayers at the same time. By using technological upgrades like this website and the research room, we can accomplish these goals. I will continue to search for technology improvements which will make the process of paying your taxes as easy and painless as possible. This is just the beginning of some exciting changes I hope to make in this office in the future. This website is a great improvement, but I envision adding services to this site in the future which will make it an even more powerful tool” Payne stated. “Satellite mapping and access to deed records will hopefully be available in the near future” added Payne. “I hope to start accepting credit cards in the office soon, but for now at least our customers will have this option”, Payne said. Property tax bills will be due on November 17th this year because the normal due date of November 15th falls on a Saturday. “I invite any citizen with question regarding this site to call our office. We will be glad to answer any questions” Payne said.
