Lafayette
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Boulder Co. homeowners– the Big Bite is in the mail
Jan 21st
Boulder County, Colo. – Tax notices will be mailed to 122,045 taxpayers this upcoming week, according to Bob Hullinghorst, Boulder County Treasurer. The taxes collected this year will exceed $485 million, up from $462 million in 2011 or 4.7 percent, to help pay for schools, roads, public safety and other expenses for 135 taxing authorities.
Homeowners are 79 percent of the taxpayers in the county, but under the “Gallagher Amendment,” they pay only 51 percent of the tax bill, with businesses required to pay the remainder. Personal property taxes are also collected from 5,737 businesses, utilities and energy companies on the equipment they own or lease.
Taxpayers without mortgage escrow accounts may choose to make two payments, starting Feb. 29, or a single payment on April 30. Under Colorado law, taxpayers who are late must be charged 1 percent per month as interest to cover extra processing, not as a penalty. Taxes postmarked before the deadlines will not be charged interest.
Payments may also be made in person at the Boulder County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Treasurer has two collection locations for taxpayers who bring their coupons and pay by check (no cash) at the Longmont Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Ave. or the Louisville Recreation Center, 910 Via Appia from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 and 27-29, April 25-27 and 30, and June 12-15. The Treasurer’s regular branch offices will also be open in Longmont every Monday and in Lafayette every Tuesday.
Electronic checks and credit card payments may only be made on the web at www.bouldercounty.org/treasurer or by calling 800-272-9829. E-checks are still being accepted at no charge, but the company processing credit card payments is charging 2.5 percent, or $50 for a $2,000 tax bill.
Any taxpayer who does not get a notice by Feb. 1 should call the Treasurer’s Office at 303-441-3520, as Colorado law states failure to receive a notice is no excuse for not paying taxes when they are due. “We do our best to get each notice delivered to the right address, but with moves, sales and refinances all impacting addresses, we get about 1.5 percent of our notices returned as undeliverable,” Hullinghorst said.
Hullinghorst commented that getting the notices out this year was a minor miracle, as the Boulder County Assessor delivered tax data to the Treasurer from new software that had never produced a tested tax roll. Hullinghorst complimented the staff of the Assessor’s Office, especially Deputy Assessor Cindy Braddock, and their software contractor, Bill Witham, an ex-marine with Manatron. Hullinghorst also recognized key Treasurer’s staff, especially Lola Nelson and Alycia Allshouse.
“Taxpayers may be like students wishing for a snow day,” said Hullinghorst. “But if I had to delay our notices by two weeks, it would have cost thousands more and delayed major distributions of needed revenue to many governments. Our printer and mail contractor, Output Services Inc. of Boulder, bent over backwards to help us meet our deadline.”
See what it’s like to be poor in Boulder County
Dec 2nd
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Circles Campaign will host a poverty simulation on Dec. 15 in Longmont to allow residents, members of the business community and representatives of local nonprofit agencies to understand the realities of poverty.
What: Poverty Simulation
When: Thursday, Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Longmont YMCA, 950 Lashley St.
During the simulation, participants role-play the lives of low-income families. Some are Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients, some are disabled, and some are senior citizens on Social Security. They have the stressful task of providing for basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four 15-minute “weeks.” They interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others..
The simulation enables participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their local communities. The simulation was designed to sensitize those who frequently work with low-income families, as well as to create a broader awareness of the realities of poverty among policymakers, community leaders and others.
Please contact Kara Edin at 303-441-3977 or kedin@bouldercounty.org or Eliberto Mendoza at 303-441-1503 or emendoza@bouldercounty.org for additional information and to register.
The Circles Campaign is part of Boulder County’s continued effort to help move individuals and families out of poverty and into a life of sustained self-sufficiency. The campaign provides a stable structure for people working their way out of poverty to receive guidance and support from mentors to help them develop skills and access resources needed to move toward economic stability
Insight Lasik
Dec 1st