The Monroe County Auditor’s Office has extended the deadline for Homestead Verification Forms again.
The auditor’s office could begin removing homestead credits of property owners who failed to turn in a the form by Dec. 31, 2012.
Monroe County Auditor Steve Saulter extended the deadline to Jan. 4, then to May 1. Now, Saulter is offering what he calls a “grace period,” allowing them to turn in their forms until tax bills are due, on May 10.
“We’ve had a steady flow of people calling, and a steady flow of people coming into our office,” Saulter said.
Saulter’s office has collected almost 50 percent of missing forms since final notices were sent to Monroe County residents in early April. Nearly 100 people turned in verification forms on Friday, Saulter said.
“I’m hoping to look up on April 30 or May 1 and see long lines of people waiting to talk to us,” he said.
There are still 1,257 residents claiming a homestead credit who have yet to file
a verification form. Homestead credits are in place on this year’s tax bills, which were mailed in April, but will be removed next year. ...
The auditor’s office has already removed about 100 homestead credits from property owners, including those who had filed for multiple credits and whose final notice letters were returned to the office, Saulter said.
So far, with help from collection agency SRI Inc., $120,000 in back taxes has been collected.
The extended collection period and staff diligence not only helped the auditor’s office collect back taxes, but also turned up other problems, including wrong or missing addresses in the auditor’s office records and people who still had mortgage exemptions despite having paid off their mortgage. “The reason it’s been successful is because of the hard work of my staff, who went in there and put their heads together and came up with a plan,” Saulter said.
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2013/04/27/news.homestead-filing-deadline-extended.sto
