MOUNT VERNON — The new Knox County property tax statements mailed last week are generating positive feedback among county taxpayers.
According to Knox County Treasurer Sandra Mizer, she wanted to update the office’s software several years ago, but over the past year, the opportunity arose for the treasurer, auditor and prosecutor offices to all upgrade their software at the same time. This upgrade allowed the new tax statements to be mailed out to county taxpayers this past week.
Mizer said that with the previous tax statements, it would be easy for taxpayers to assume all of the tax money comes to the county commissioners. However, she noted, it’s important to realize the tax dollars only go through the commissioners office, then is distributed back out to the various county entities. Mizer said the new information on the tax statements may help taxpayers become more informed voters and citizens when various levies are up for a vote. On the other hand, she said, the new tax statements are “informational only.”
Glen Bricker of Mount Vernon said he was impressed with his property tax statement having the new breakdown of allocations, and especially liked knowing that school taxes are diverted to other institutions besides the public schools, such as the Knox County Career. Bricker likes the new breakdowns and said that as a taxpayer it matters to him because “it has to be voted on.” The breakdowns on the statements help keep taxpayers informed, he noted.
Stephanie Lamport of Fredericktown has not seen the new statements, but said that, as a mother, the breakdown might be nice to see. However, she speculated that it might make elderly people, who may not be particularly well-off, upset to see their money going toward various educational institutions.
Centerburg resident Lisa Mathias said the new statements are important because “it’s nice to know” where her tax dollars are going. Mary Miller of Danville said the new property tax statement is “OK,” but also said she didn’t look at it too closely. However, she said, “everybody should know where their money is going,” especially if they have a fixed income.
Knox County Auditor Margarat Ann Ruhl noted that there were some small problems with the new statements, most notably that minus signs were not printed for deductions. She said the problem was most likely a glitch with the newly updated software. According to Ruhl, it is difficult to estimate the total amount of taxes that will be received throughout the county, because there are 22 townships, each with at least two levies; six schools with five to eight levies each; and three career centers involved in the county. Although the recently mailed statements are only for half of the year, Ruhl said some people will pay the full amount because they don’t want to mess with paying taxes again.
Taxes which apply to all county residents are easier to estimate. According to the Auditor’s Office, estimates — which factor in delinquent taxpayers — for 2008 include the Knox County General Fund, to receive $3,688,200; Community Mental Health Board (merged with Licking County), $1, 081,900; children’s services, $1,047,000; senior citizens levy, $848,000; the health department, $322,000 (including state reimbursements); and MRDD, which will receive about $1.5 million.