Tax bills won’t be due Aug. 1
By: Lea Kahn
Taxpayers won’t need to check their mailboxes for their property tax bills until at least the end of July, according to Municipal Manager William Guhl.
Mr. Guhl told Township Council Tuesday that he has received several calls from residents who wanted to know why they had not received their tax bills. The bills normally are mailed out by the end of June.
But the 2002-03 property tax bills won’t go out until the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders approves its 2002 budget, he said.
The freeholder board hopes to adopt its budget later this month, said Mercer County spokeswoman Robin Williams. The county budget has been delayed, pending the adoption of the state budget, she said. The state budget was adopted this week.
However, county officials are facing a shortfall of $8.5 million in state aid that was not included in the state budget, Ms. Williams said. It will take the county a few weeks to determine how to close that gap, she said.
Once the freeholders adopt the county budget, the overall tax rate can be set, Mr. Guhl said. After that, it will take about a week to prepare the tax bills and then another to sort and mail them, he said.
The overall tax rate includes taxes to support the budgets for Mercer County, Lawrence Township and the township school district. Lawrence Township and Mercer County also have their own open space taxes, which are included in the overall tax rate.
Because of the delay, tax bills that normally might be due Aug. 1 will not have to be paid until later in the month, said Mr. Guhl. State law says property owners have 25 days from the date the bill is mailed to make their payment, he said.
"Until the freeholders approve the budget, these dates are sheer speculation," Mr. Guhl said. "All I can say for sure is that the tax bills won’t be due Aug. 1."