2020-11-15
Greene County Collector, Leah Betts, send an email advising that the 2020 annual tax bills that typically go out in early November of each year will be delayed this year.
Dear Taxpayer:
Have you ever had a bad dream where you are trying to run but you just can’t? Well, that’s how I feel at the moment. And it possibly involves you if you are getting this email (if Greene County taxes do not apply to you anymore, then forgive me in advance, I am just trying to reach as many folks as I can). I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the 2020 personal property and real estate tax statements will be delayed, but don’t worry – they will eventually come. Read on and don’t skip any words pretty please (reading this will be more fun than watching all the crazy and bad news on TV, right?).
Warning – this paragraph is the boring one, but it has the important details you might want to know. My office works very hard to meet an early tax statement mailing goal each year. However, this year is going to be out of the norm. The process of creating the annual county tax statements involves several county offices and it is a very complex system. This year, the Assessor’s office launched a new personal property program. And although the Assessor’s office has completed their assessment work, the process for finalizing and delivering that data by the County I.T. Department to the County Clerk is still in progress due to complications of merging two separate computer programs. Therefore, this is causing a delay in the creation and delivery of tax statements. However, don’t let “out of sight” become “out of mind” as county taxes are still due at the end of the year at this point. You can check the bright red banner on our website https://greenecountymo.gov/collector/ for updates. We will also send updated emails, notify by billboards, and send out press releases.
We are working diligently with the County I.T. Department, County Commission, County Assessor, and County Clerk regarding this matter to serve you to the best of our ability within the given circumstances. I apologize on behalf of all involved offices here at the Greene County (no one is perfect, so help us out here and don’t be too hard on anyone).
My office will strive to turn these lemons into lemonade one way or another because that’s just how we roll. And rest assured, I have every intention of continuing our extra early mailing of statements in future years, just as we have for the past several years. 2020 has definitely been a year of the unexpected in many ways, and I’m sure you can empathize with that (and if you can’t – try, try again :-).
Just so you know…we are surprisingly pleasant and not “government-y” (or at least thousands of folks have told us so). So please do not hesitate to call or email us if you have a question and we will happily help you with a smile. If you are thinking “cool website address, but it seems fishy”, feel free to go to the county wide website, https://www.greenecountymo.gov/, click on offices, then Collector (to satisfy your inner tech safety questions).
Leah Betts, Greene County Collector
(417) 868-4036
LBetts@greenecountymo.gov