PORT TOWNSEND — Tax statements that usually are mailed to property owners in the middle of February could be delayed about a week because of a software upgrade in progress at the Jefferson County Treasurer’s and Assessor’s offices.
“We are already getting calls about when the statements will be out,” said Treasurer Judi Morris.
“There will be a slight delay this year because we have changed the process.”
Morris said she hopes tax statements will arrive by Feb. 20.
Half of the tax bill is due April 30, with the remainder due Oct. 31, though taxpayers have the option to pay the entire amount on the earlier date.
Morris said the tax statements will appear different than past ones.
The information is the same but is presented in a more accessible format, with all the deductions listed in a single box rather than in separate boxes, she said.
The county changed vendors from Computech, which was in use for 25 years.
The county’s vendor is now True Automation. The conversion began Jan. 1.
Morris said the Computech system was not obsolete but that it had to be replaced because of a state requirement that property revaluations be posted every year beginning in 2014, instead of the four-year cycle that is now required.
Since the state is requiring the change, it is subsidizing the conversion, paying half of the Treasurer’s Office’s $200 cost and all of the $300,000 to upgrade the assessor’s.
Morris said the new system allows the county to react more quickly to market trends.
Additionally, the programs allows for more current reporting, giving the state access to more up-to-date market statistics, Morris said.
Assessor Jack Westerman III said the yearly revaluation will work in favor of property owners during poor economic times.
“Property values have gone down, and under the current system, it can take several years for the changes to be reflected in the tax statement,” he said.
Morris said Computech did not offer the yearly update option as the company “is getting out of the government business.”
The conversion will be in place in May after training is complete.
In the meantime, both the assessor and treasurer staffs are operating with dual monitors.
“Having two monitors on the desk has really helped us to learn the new system,” Westerman said.
“Other counties who have made the conversion told us that it was a big mistake to upgrade using just one monitor because you always have to switch back and forth.”
Computech is a mainframe program that operates from an IBM AS400 located in the courthouse basement, while the True Automation application is a networked Windows-based program.
The assessor has a seven-member staff, while the treasurer employs five, including the department heads.
The new system also includes a fulfillment module, outsourcing the printing, envelope-stuffing and mailing tasks that previously were done by the treasurer’s staff.
“In past years, we did it all ourselves, and for two weeks, we did nothing else,” Morris said.
“Now we will have more time to do our regular daily functions.”
For more information, phone 360-385-9149.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
