Callaway County taxes due today

<p>Helen Wlbers/FULTON SUN</p><p>Callaway County assessment forms and county tax payments may be dropped off in front of the county courthouse.</p>

Helen Wlbers/FULTON SUN

Callaway County assessment forms and county tax payments may be dropped off in front of the county courthouse.

"'Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but death and taxes," Christopher Bullock wrote in 1716.

That's especially true in a year like 2020. The Callaway County Assessor and Collector's offices are hard at work performing their annual tasks of assessing and collecting taxes, respectively.

County Assessor Jody Paschal said it's been business as usual in his office, with the ongoing pandemic not significantly impacting the assessment process.

"The number of assessment forms we sent this year was about the same as last year, about 20,000," he said Wednesday. "This is just for personal property."

The total assessed value of Callaway County property also remained relatively stable, he said.

Taxes are due Dec. 31 each year based on property owned Jan. 1 of that year, Paschal said. Residents pay taxes each year based on where they lived Jan. 1 - so if someone lived in Cole County on Jan. 1 of this year and moved to Callaway County the very next day, they'd still pay 2020's taxes to Cole County.

"The assessment list is self-reporting, and creates your tax bill at the end of the year," he explained. "That's why we need it."

Assessment forms, which were sent out earlier this year to all county residents, are due back March 1 and should list taxable personal property owned Jan. 1,2021.

"If you have a business, we have sent out blank assessment sheets for business owners to fill out so they can take off anything they no longer have or add new equipment they might have, instead of just putting 'Same as last year,'" Paschal said.

In mid-March, the assessor's office will send out reminder postcards. There's a grace period until April 30, after which anyone who still hasn't turned their form in must pay a late fee included on their next tax bill, Paschal explained.

"We've given citizens a couple different ways to turn in their assessment lists so don't have to come into the courthouse," he added.

People can file through the online portal at callaway.missouriassessors.com, mail their lists or drop them off in the drop-box outside the Callaway County Courthouse (10 E. 5th St., Fulton). So far, about 30 percent of residents have returned their assessment lists, with 5 percent of residents using the online portal.

"That's really good for this time of year," Paschal said. "We'd like to see people use (the website) more because it's a really good resource. You can do it from home, you can do it from your cellphone while you're waiting in the car."

The online portal does require users to enter an active email address in order to send a receipt, he added.

"If people have any quest or concerns about it, we'll help them as much as we can," Paschal said.

The assessor's office can be reached at 573-642-0766.

The Callaway County Collector's office had a slightly more turbulent year, needing to seek out new collector software mid-year.

"We had some problems with the software and once again had to change software," Callaway County Auditor Karen Rentschler said Tuesday.

The office last switched software just last year, replacing a dated system that made audits difficult.

Sarah Gladman, the county collector, said ClearBasin Software ended its business relationship with the county shortly after one of the county's offices moved away from the software, for reasons that aren't clear to her. She speculated Callaway County's needs might've been too extensive and complex for the company.

"They struggled to keep up with us - they weren't able to give us the programming we needed," she said.

According to budget amendments passed Tuesday, the county spent an unanticipated $42,000 from its tax maintenance fund on "technical assistance."

The new collector software from DevNet is working well so far, Gladman said.

Callaway County taxes are due today and can be dropped off in the drop-box in front of the county courthouse, mailed or paid at callawaycollector.com/.

The county courthouse will be closed Friday but will be open until 5 p.m. today.