Friday, December 13th, 2013

Tax bills outsourced starting in 2014

By Shelley Grieshop
CELINA - Officials on Thursday penned an agreement to outsource the county's property tax billing process - a move that could save taxpayers thousands of dollars.
SmartBill of Newark will begin in February handling the labor, supplies, postage and printing tasks for approximately 37,800 mailings involving Mercer County properties. The county mails real estate tax bills twice each year. The billing method now used costs the county about $18,300 annually. Mercer County Treasurer Dave Kaiser said he believes the county will reap significant savings by using SmartBill - an idea discussed by officials since 2009.
"We anticipate the savings will more than pay the fee for the service," he said.
Kaiser said the switch should save the county at least $3,000 per year and likely more after "glitches" are worked out after the first mailing. He estimates a savings of 6 cents per each envelope mailed. It currently costs about 27 cents per envelope, he added.
"We're really trying to get our costs down," he said of the treasurer's office.
The treasurer's staff clocks about 140 hours in preparation work prior to the biannual mailings. Folding the bills - a cost of $280 - currently is the only out-sourced task.
The county office is limited to placing no more than three bills in one envelope for residents who own more than one property. However, SmartBill is licensed to mail approximately seven bills in one envelope, which reduces the cost of postage, Kaiser said.
SmartBill also offers other services, such as online bill viewing and paying, although the county hasn't yet pursued those options.
County commissioners approved the contract with SmartBill on Thursday morning.
In other business, commissioners approved a $500,000 Local Government Innovation Fund loan to help fund construction of an oil tank, pump and wash bay at the site of a new county engineering facility on Mud Pike, west of Celina.
The project cost is estimated at $555,556. The remaining expenses will be paid from the engineer's budget.
The county has received a total of five $500,000 LGIF no-interest loans in the last month to help pay for the engineering complex.
Additional online story on this date
ST. HENRY - The final thing that Minster girls basketball head coach Nann Stechschulte uttered to her squad before they filtered off of the bus in St. Henry on Thursday night was a brief warning about the focus they needed playing in their first road Midwest Athletic Conference game of the season. [More]
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Editor's note: This is the second story of a three-part series about the heroin problem in the area, its impact on the community and steps being taken to deal with the problem. Names of those dealing with heroin addiction have been changed.
Celina
CELINA - Technological upgrades under consideration at the school district include a safety system to quicken response time of local emergency officials.
A Celina man pleaded guilty in Mercer County Common Pleas Court last week to an amended charge of attempted felonious assault, a third-degree felony, in an incident involving a 4-month-old baby.
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office will increase patrols in targeted areas during the holidays, according to a news release from sheriff Jeff Grey.
A judge has rejected a Celina man's request to avoid paying more than $60,000 in medical costs of the man he injured in a 2011 fight.
Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Ingraham late last month ordered Alex Hirn, 27, to pay $61,486.29, according to court records.
Marion Local knocks off Coldwater for the second time this year
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local's girls basketball team smothered Coldwater with an aggressive man-to-man defense en route to a convincing 51-29 victory on Thursday night in Midwest Athletic Conference action at The Hangar.
NEW KNOXVILLE - With the way that New Knoxville and Versailles were playing defense, it looked like the first team to 30 points would emerge as the winner.
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
New Bremen's girls basketball team outscored Parkway 19-14 in the final quarter and the Cardinals rallied to defeat the Panthers 40-36 in Midwest Athletic Conference action on Thursday at Cardinal Gymnasium.