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Commission rejects resident's request to waive late-tax penalty
Summary
The commission voted to deny a request to waive an $89 late property-tax penalty after staff said the payment arrived late at the city's lockbox despite a December postmark; commissioners cited consistency and risk of opening broad refunds as reasons for denial.
The Bloomfield Hills City Commission on Tuesday rejected a resident's request to waive an assessed late property-tax penalty after city staff said the mailed payment reached the city's lockbox weeks after the due date.
Sandra, a city finance staff member, told commissioners the resident mailed his payment from Florida in December but the city received it in the lockbox on Feb. 26. The city's standard practice, she said, is not to accept postmarks as proof of timely payment.
"We do retain the envelopes and it was postmarked in December," Sandra said, but added the policy has been applied consistently and the city has declined similar requests in the past.
Commissioners warned that granting one waiver would invite many others. "If we start making exceptions based on postmarks, we'll be refunding everybody who postmarks it," one commissioner said. Another said inconsistent mail service has increased the number of late payments but urged caution about changing an established city practice.
A motion to reject the waiver request passed. The denial preserves the city's current rule that payments must be received, not merely postmarked, by the due date to avoid a penalty; staff noted there are other payment methods available (online ACH, credit card, drop box, in-person payment through Oakland County) that avoid reliance on mailed checks.
The commission did not change policy at the meeting and directed staff to continue applying consistent standards for late payments.
