Adams County property taxes still due April 30
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 11 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | April 16, 2020 11:47 PM
RITZVILLE — Adams County residents are still required to pay their property taxes by April 30. The treasurer’s office will provide what Treasurer Kayla Meise called “measured relief” to property owners who have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The county will waive penalties and fees for qualifying property owners who can’t pay by April 30, and Meise said she will work with people to make payment plans. Applicants will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
People whose jobs or businesses are not affected by the outbreak are not eligible and must pay by April 30.
Meise said Adams County is a sparsely populated county and as a result has less in financial reserve than some more populated counties.
Adams County and its hospital districts, school districts, fire districts and other entities, called junior taxing districts, depend on property tax revenue to meet their obligations. If Adams County or a junior taxing district has issued bonds to pay for a project or equipment, the only way to pay the money owed is through property tax revenues. Typically bond payments are due June 1.
Meise said she’s trying to balance the need to help people whose jobs or businesses have been affected by the outbreak and the responsibility of the county and junior taxing districts to pay their bills.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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