Politics & Government

Change in Vehicle Decal Procedure Delays Property Tax Invoices

Thousands of Manassas Park residents received their personal property tax and licensing fee invoices later than expected.

Manassas Park residents received their property tax statements later than usual this year because of a change in procedure concerning the city’s vehicle decals, Manassas Park city officials said Friday.

 Many Manassas Park taxpayers noticed the statements arrived in their mailboxes very close to the Oct. 5 due date.

 Winifred “Winnie” O’Neal, treasurer of Manassas Park, said she’s received some questions about the arrival time of the invoices.

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 Virginia State Code mandates that property tax statements be sent out 14 days in advance of the due date, O’Neal said.  The treasurer’s office made that deadline, even though the invoices went out later than they had in past years, she said.

As of Friday, some 8,763 invoices were mailed by the treasurer's office. 

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As a courtesy, Manassas Park residents usually receive their invoices about a month in advance of the due date, she said.

 “We were shooting for that, but it just didn’t happen,” O’Neal said.

 The process took a little longer because Manassas Park City Council to combine the property tax statements and vehicle decal fee into the same bill, she said.

 The council agreed with the recommendation of city staff to implement a permanent decal and assess a licensing fee each year.  This option takes the hassle out of residents having to pay $25, obtain a new sticker and peel off the old, city staff said in February.

 Now residents will pay the $25 and keep the decals they have now.

As a result of the change, there were some programming changes that had to be implemented in the treasurer's office and at the printer’s office that produces the invoices, O’Neal said. This prolonged the process, she added.

 O’Neal pointed out that residents can pay their personal property taxes anytime they want, at any point in the year by just using their social security numbers, O’Neal said.

 It isn’t necessary to wait until an invoice is received, but the treasurer’s office won’t be able to give residents an exact amount on how much they owe until about the first week in September,  she added.

 The property taxes that are due next month are for January to December of 2011. So, if a family leaves the city before the year is over, they still have to pay for all 12 months, because Manassas Park doesn’t prorate as some jurisdictions do, O’Neal said.

 There is a 10 percent penalty for paying taxes after the due date. An additional 10 percent penalty is accessed for paying it more than 30 days late.


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