Maine Municipal
Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association |
After our tax bills go out, we have a pile of mortgage holders
who call requesting tax bill information for taxpayers who have their taxes
escrowed. We provide them with a copy of the bill, sometimes faxing and sometimes
mailing. This is obviously time consuming. Just wondering how other towns/cities
handle this profusion of calls. Do you make it the taxpayer's responsiblity?
If not, do you charge for any of it?
Tammy Getchell mchc@mfx.net
Tammy M. Getchell
Treasurer
Towns of Mapleton, Castle Hill, & Chapman
P.O. Box 500, Mapleton, ME 04757
(207) 764-3754
I keep a file of all the mortgage holder requests and after the tax bills
go out, I either send a copy or make up a list for them. We feel that this
facilitates tax payments and don't charge the mortgage holders for this info.
A good deal of them enclose a stamped envelopy.
Joan in Palmyra palmyra@tdstelme.net
Most mortgage holders notify us as soon as they hold a mortgage that is in escrow. We have the TRIO software which allows us to print a copy of the tax bill for the property in question. We send them out with the rest of the tax bills. This is considered a taxpayer benefit for which there is no charge. It also insures that we get the money on time. So it really benefits the Town too. Hopes this helps.
Alice from the Town of Searsmont
The Town of Old Orchard Beach makes it the property owner’s responsibility to get the tax bill to their escrow service. Mortgages change hands too frequently these days for us to keep up. We do not get a lot of requests from the mortgage companies. However, if a mortgage company needs a copy of a tax bill under unusual circumstances (property changing hands, for example), we will fax it to them at no charge. The major mortgage service companies request an electronic copy of the tax billings for the entire town. They pick out their people and return a check with an electronic file that is imported into Munis to pay the accounts. We do not charge for the electronic files as it saves a bunch of time not having to enter each part of the payment separately.
Treasurer/Finance Director
Thanks to all of you who responded to my question regarding mortgage holders
who inquire about tax bills. The majority of you do not charge for this service
(neither do we) as it is considered a benefit since the bill will likely be
paid. As do many of you, we send our bills to the taxpayer with a notice that
they are responsible for passing this information onto their mortgage companies,
however...we still get the phone calls.
Thanks again!
Tammy M. Getchellmchc@mfx.net
Treasurer
Towns of Mapleton, Castle Hill, & Chapman
P.O. Box 500, Mapleton, ME 04757
(207) 764-3754