From the Bloomington Herald-Tribune:
Monroe County Treasurer Cathy Smith has established a payment plan for a local couple who are in arrears on their property taxes. That’s a first for the county.
The payment plan was possible because of a change in state law earlier this year that permits a county’s treasurer to set up scheduled payments for back taxes and penalties. But there’s a catch: The county’s auditor must agree to the plan and take the property off the tax sale list.
“We are in a bad economy and people are hurting. This law gives us a chance to help them, and it is the right thing to do,” Smith told Monroe County Auditor Amy Gerstman in a July 3 email seeking her cooperation in establishing payment plans for delinquent property taxes. “I believe it is the right thing to do to set up payments plans for those in need and I hope you will support me in this endeavor. So, I am respectfully asking you to remove anyone on the list who enters into a signed agreement with me for a payment plan.”
On July 5, Gerstman, through county attorney Dave Schilling, provided a list of reasons she opposes such payment plans.
Despite Gerstman’s misgivings and similar concerns from county commissioners, Smith wrote up a payment plan for an Ellettsville couple, and Gerstman agreed to it on Thursday, just in time for the couple to avoid an extra $175 fee.
See the full story here:
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2012/07/15/news.county-makes-rare-exception-to-offer-tax-payment-plan.sto
