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Date: 1/19/2023
MONTGOMERY — The Board of Selectmen notified residents this week that the town will not be sending out property tax bills for Feb. 1, because it was unable to submit the required documents to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue by the deadline of Dec. 31, 2022.
The next tax bills will be issued May 1, and will include two quarters due.
Michael Morrissey, chair of the Board of Selectmen, said the town collector-treasurer was a month behind in submitting revenues, and the Board of Assessors informed the selectmen that the collector-treasurer had not completed the necessary documents for the fiscal year and to submit the data to the state, so that a tax classification hearing could be held as required by law.
The collector-treasurer is Jane Thielen, a longtime town employee who also serves as the administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen. The town clerk is Cheryl Masciadrelli. A new bookkeeper just started in January, according to Morrissey.
Morrissey explained that the collector collects the taxes and submits them to the treasurer, in this case the same person, who then submits the monthly report to the bookkeeper to enter the data. The assessors and Department of Revenue need the figures from the collector-treasurer as part of the calculation for setting the tax rate, based on the budget passed at the Annual Town Meeting.
Morrissey said the Board of Selectmen met with the Board of Assessors in early December to try and ensure that the town set its tax rate and submitted the required documents to the state to review and approve, so that the February tax bills could go out.
However, the town was unable to submit the required documents by the end-of-year deadline, and the state said they wouldn’t set the tax rate until the receipts were in, according to Morrissey.
Morrissey said individuals with concerns or questions about their property taxes should call Town Hall and speak with the collector-treasurer at 862-2268. He said the town is getting some calls from financial institutions, such as banks that pay real estate taxes from mortgage escrow accounts, and are sending out an inquiry about the tax rates.
“We’re pushing to get it done,” he said. The Board of Selectmen is scheduling meetings with the town Finance Committee for the end of January to try to address the shortcomings and prepare for next year’s budget.
All meetings will be posted in the calendar on the town’s new website at montgomeryma.gov, which is in the process of being updated with all of the town’s information, Morrissey said.