Klamath County hears pitch from EZ SmartPay for voluntary monthly property-tax payments

Klamath County Board of Commissioners — Representatives from EZ SmartPay presented a voluntary platform the company says allows taxpayers to split property-tax bills into monthly payments while the vendor remits the full amount to the county when due.

"This is a no cost service to the county. This is also no cost service to the taxpayer," said Chase Brofman, chief business officer at EZ SmartPay, who said the company earns revenue by investing collected funds for short periods and passing no fee on ACH payments. Brofman said Visa, Mastercard and debit cards are supported and that ACH transactions carry no fee; credit-card users would pay card fees (Brofman noted a 1.99% card rate and $1.09 fixed components in examples).

Brofman said EZ SmartPay began as a service for California counties through the California State Association of Counties Finance Corporation and now serves multiple counties; he said neighboring Siskiyou and Modoc counties are clients and that Klamath would be one of the first Oregon counties if it signs on.

Finance director Vicky asked why the company needs a county contract rather than working with individual taxpayers. Brofman said the county partnership is important for trust and marketing — the county would place a link on its tax-collector site and the vendor would use county channels to reach residents.

County commissioners said they would check references and consult the Oregon State Treasury to confirm any state-specific constraints. Commissioner Derek Figueroa said he would call references listed by EZ SmartPay.

No formal procurement action was taken; staff said they will follow up with references and legal review before any pilot or contract decision.

Next steps: county staff will check references and state-regulatory implications and report back to the board.