Those owing property taxes due Nov. 10 will get a couple extra days to make their payments because of the federal Veterans Day holiday.
Ofelia Gregoline, floor manager for the Lake County Treasurer’s Office, said the state legislature extended the deadline to Nov. 13 since government offices are closed Friday due to the holiday.
To accommodate taxpayers caught off guard by the closure, Gregoline said all three locations of the Treasurer’s Office including Crown Point, Gary and Hammond, will be open extended hours Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Taxpayers also have other options to pay their bill in advance of the Nov. 13 deadline.
“They will be able to pay during the weekend at (some) local banks,” she said. Taxpayers also can make their payment online by the deadline at the treasurer’s webpage at www.lakecountyin.org.
Treasurer John Petalas said people can expect the office to be busy with people both in person and on the phone who need assistance with their tax bills and should expect to wait if paying in person.
“Taxpayers that need to visit a treasurer’s office will be moved in and out as quickly as possible,” Petalas said.
He warned those who call into the office that they may be on hold for an extended period of time as call volume will increase by several hundred calls per hour as people try to make the deadline.
If taxpayers do not have questions or problems with their bills, they could visit a branch of any of the following banks — American Community Bank, Centier Bank, DeMotte State Bank, Plank Trail Community Bank, First Financial Bank, First Merchants Bank, Old National Bank, Horizon Bank, Peoples Bank, and Tech Credit Union at its Indiana branches only — to pay their bills.
Credit card payments are accepted online and in person. A credit card fee is charged by the payment processing firm. The county does not receive any of the fee charged for making a credit card payment, Petalas said.
In Porter County the payment of property taxes was further complicated by the treasurer’s office being closed on Election Day and also unable to process credit card payments. “We had a glitch beyond our control. Chase messed up,” said Chief Deputy Treasurer Jim Albarran.
He explained there was a problem with the vendor processing of credit cards on the county’s registers. “They couldn’t figure out why we got cut off for two weeks,” Albarran said of the technical problem which won’t be fixed until after Monday’s deadline.
In the meantime, credit card payments can still be made online or by phone. “We’ve still got a functioning system that works really well online,” he said. Those wishing to pay in person will need to do so by cash or check.
Sam Bravo, of Portage, was paying with cash Thursday morning, but conceded he’s probably not the norm. “Nobody likes to carry that much, that’s why,” he said.
Albarran said traffic to the payment window for the November tax bills picks up after Nov. 1. “This is the first time in a long time in Porter County we had Election Day off,” he said. “People often go vote and then come to pay.”
Trina Hess, of Porter, said the holiday wasn’t altering when she came in to pay her bill. “No it didn’t. Just had to remember to pay it. Monday will probably be really busy,” she said.
Albarran advised folks to be aware of the lengthy process for an electronic check to clear. If there is any difficulty and the check is rejected by the multiple banks involved, it doesn’t count as having been paid. “It’s like a check that bounces,” he said.
“One of the best ways is by personal check,” he said. “Personal checks provide a lot of tracking. It beats cash.
“At this time, they ought to consider putting it in the mail and getting it postmarked,” he said of those not planning to come in person who need to meet the Monday deadline.
Michael Hoffer, of Valparaiso, said personal check is his preferred method of payment. “I can watch it. I can control it and it did one year help me prove that I did pay,” he said.
The Porter County Treasurer’s Office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the last day to pay fall property tax bills on time. After that a late payment penalty of 10% is charged. If the late payment is paid in full within 30 days of the deadline — Dec. 13 — the penalty is dropped to 5%, per Indiana law.
“If they were already behind it would be 10%,” Albarran clarified.
For more information or to pay online, go to https://www.porterco.org/210/Treasurer.
cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
