Haines residents could get a two-month extension on the due date of their tax bills after the assembly moved forward with an ordinance that would push back the Nov. 1 filing deadline.
On Monday, a special assembly meeting was held to introduce an ordinance that would extend the due date for delinquent property tax payments from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.
Proponents of the ordinance say the extension would provide a grace period for penalties and interest on overdue tax payments after many residents say they need more time to clear their dues following a dramatic rise in some property assessments and resulting tax bills.
This year, more than 200 people appealed their property assessments – significantly higher than previous years, though most of those appeals have been settled.
The ordinance, if passed, would be retroactive to Nov. 1, the current due date.
Borough chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart estimated the lost interest if the ordinance passed would amount to between $3,000 and $5,000.
The meeting Tuesday night was the first of three meetings necessary for the ordinance to pass at the next regular assembly meeting on Nov. 14. Another special meeting for public comment is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The special session to introduce the ordinance was called by Mayor Tom Morphet with the verbal backing of three assembly members. It was drafted to extend the period only until Dec. 1. However, residents who provided feedback during the meeting urged the assembly to push it back even further.
During Monday’s meeting, Haines resident Paul Rogers offered the assembly a citizen substitute for the ordinance, requesting that the date be pushed back until Feb. 1. His ordinance, along with testimony from multiple residents, suggested the borough’s property assessments were questionable. Borough officials say assessments this year helped standardize property values based on a computer-based mass appraisal system that calibrates values based on precise property characteristics and available market sales data.
Assessments rose by an average of 17% this year, but more than half of homeowners had a change in their tax bill of $30 or less after mill rates dropped slightly, according to borough figures.
New assembly member Kevin Forster floated a deadline of Dec. 31 as a compromise. Craig Loomis agreed and said it would still allow for a longer grace period but would not cause too much issue for the borough’s finance department when budgeting.
“The end of the year seems to be a pretty commonplace understanding, financially. I don’t see why we couldn’t push it back to the end of the year,” Forster said.
Ultimately, Forster’s amendment passed the assembly unanimously, but the full ordinance has yet to be voted on.
Multiple residents who provided testimony applauded the assembly for taking action on the issue.
“We are very, very grateful for you being on top of this making things better for the people of Haines,” said Kim Rosado. “This is a great step for the people in Haines, to knock these interest and penalties and to give everybody a break so they can get it paid without accruing more.”
Holding a special assembly meeting itself costs the borough about $1,000 to pay members and borough administrative staff, according to Morphet. Morphet said he thought the ordinance was necessary considering the Nov. 1 payment deadline and what he called an “awkward” process of reassessing some properties.
“We’ve made some abrupt changes and we could have done a better job of notifying the public that those were coming down the pike,” said Morphet, who took office last week.
The borough hired contract assessor Michael Dahle this spring to help standardize the process for how assessments are done.
Although most property owners saw modest increases in their assessments and resulting tax bills, some residents saw dramatic spikes in the value of their homes. The borough said that was a result of some properties that hadn’t been properly assessed for years and a more thorough assessment process.
The issue has simmered for months in private and at meetings of the Board of Equalization, where residents have fumed about what they see as unfair assessments.
Assembly members, including three members sworn in at the last meeting, appeared keen to tackle the issue and scheduled a special workshop on tax assessments for Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m.