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City property-tax clerk says backlog cleared; officials urge separate mailings for water and taxes
Summary
Opelousas property tax clerk reported mailed-in tax payments processed through Feb. 3, summarized collections and urged residents to mail water bills separately to avoid NSF fees and delays.
Josha Payne, the city of Opelousas property tax clerk, told the City Council on Feb. 11 that mailed-in property-tax payments dating from December 2024 through Feb. 3 have been processed and provided figures the council requested on notice mailings and collections.
Payne said about 8,665 tax notices were mailed. Collections recorded from Dec. 1, 2024, to Feb. 3 totaled $1,188,229.88 for regular tax collections; grass-cutting and demolition payments collected in that period were $10,165. The total collected figure Payne cited during the meeting was $1,198,394.88. She said interest was added to unpaid bills as of Feb. 1, and certified letters and advertising fees related to tax sale processes would follow in March as needed.
Payne and other staff told council members that delays in processing mailed payments were largely caused by staff shortages and by customers placing both tax payments and water-bill payments in the same envelope. That practice delayed inputting payments, sometimes causing banks to return checks for insufficient funds because the city had not yet posted the mailed payment. The clerk's office and other city staff said residents should send tax payments and water payments in separate envelopes and update contact information with the St. Landry Parish Assessor's office so the city can reach property owners with pending tax-sale notices. Certified letters will be used prior to list publication for tax-sale candidates.
Why it matters: the timetable for processing mailed payments affects when interest and penalties are applied and which parcels may be listed for tax sale; the clerk said timely updating of addresses, phone numbers and emails helps the office contact affected taxpayers.
Council members asked for more regular reporting and for clear public messaging; staff said they will increase social-media outreach and that staff have been tracking daily mailed-in payment volumes to build a comparative dataset for future years.
