Posts tagged interest
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.”
Boulder renters get a new rate on security deposits
Dec 16th
The City of Boulder has calculated the interest rate for tenant security deposits for the 2012 calendar year to be 0.3 percent, effective Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. This is the mathematical average of the one-year certificate of deposit from the top three financial institutions in Boulder, based on market share data as of Dec. 15, 2011.
This calculation has been prepared in accordance with Ordinance 7320, which was adopted on Feb. 17, 2004. Relevant code language may be found in sections 12-2-2 and 12-2-4 through 12-2-7 of the Boulder Revised Code.
Tenants may contact their landlord if there are questions about their lease. The city offers support for lease questions and tenant/landlord issues through Community Mediation Services at 303-441-4364. Another resource for tenants who are University of Colorado students is Off-Campus Student Services –www.colorado.edu/OCSS.
Occupy Boulder? Not overnight. No potty, sleeping or dogs, either
Nov 22nd
Boulder County, Colo. – The Board of County Commissioners supports peaceful assembly and asks only that protesters follow established rules for use of the Boulder County Courthouse Plaza.
City of Boulder ordinances state that camping is illegal. Boulder County has not given its permission for the installation of tents nor for the overnight and residential use of its property, and supports the city police department’s- enforcement of this regulation. Dogs also are not allowed and neither is using the plaza as a restroom.
“We absolutely understand people’s desire to gather and protest, whether as part of the Occupy movement or any cause,” Commissioner Ben Pearlman said. “However, in the interest of public health and safety, we can’t allow camping in front of the Courthouse. We apply these rules consistently, no matter the subject, in order to be fair and equitable.”
In addition to the no camping, no dogs and no public urination rules, gatherings of more than 25 persons need to get a permit from Boulder County. Use of that permit is allowed from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. Boulder County encourages people to freely gather and discuss issues peacefully during these times.