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County to change real estate tax bill to perforated mailer; borough urged to preview before March 1 mailing
Summary
Centre County Tax Claim & Collections Director Jennifer Patina showed a sample perforated, self-sealing real estate tax mailer and answered town questions about payment options, timing and vendor changes; officials urged the borough to publicize the new format before the March 1 payment deadline.
Centre County’s Tax Claim and Collections Office displayed a new perforated, self-sealing real estate tax bill design and told Bellefonte Borough Council how the change will affect taxpayers and tax collectors.
Jennifer Patina, tax claims and collections director, said the mailer will separate into a taxpayer copy, a tax collector’s copy (for scanning or remittance processing) and a lower section with property details. “The upper portion … is a tax payer copy of the real estate tax bill that you will keep for your records,” Patina said, describing the new three-part layout. She advised taxpayers to include a self-addressed stamped envelope if they want a dated receipt returned.
Why it matters: the new format alters how taxpayers receive and return bills and may produce two county and municipal mailings in some cases, depending on whether a municipality continues with its existing vendor. Council members asked whether prior payment-plan arrangements remain available; Patina said installment plans are typically a school-district option and that tax-collector office hours and in-person payments remain available.
Key points from the presentation: - The new mailer will include millage and disbursement information, payment windows (2% discount period March 1–April 30 was cited), and property assessment details. - If a municipality or its tax collector does not switch to the county’s new vendor, some taxpayers could receive two separate real estate tax bills for the same parcel. - Patina said the county chose a more technical platform that supports optional credit-card payments for tax collectors who opt in. The county’s vendor is in Pennsylvania, she said. - The county must have bills out on or before March 1; Patina said they will be mailed by that date.
Council action and follow-up: residents in the meeting urged that the borough newsletter include a sample of the new mailer before March 1 so taxpayers know how to identify and return the bill. Patina provided the county office phone number for further questions.
Ending: Council members asked the borough office to publicize the new format and to advise residents about potential duplicate mailings if their tax collector keeps the previous vendor.
