Kiosk, online payment option now available for county property taxes
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LISBON -- Paying property taxes in Columbiana County just got a little easier, with a self-service payment kiosk now available at the courthouse or an online payment option live on the treasurer's website.
"I think anytime you make it easier and more convenient for the public, you're doing a service to the community," county Treasurer Bryan Blakeman said.
Making the payment process easier and modernizing the office were both goals when Blakeman ran for office.
During a treasurer's conference last November, he said he saw the functionality of the free-standing kiosk offered by F&E Payment Pros and thought it would be a good way to reduce the lines during tax time at a fraction of the cost.
At the same time, he decided to launch the online payment capability, too. People can go to treasurer.columbiana.oh.gov, which is a secure site, to pay their property taxes online. By creating an account, they can also receive notices when their bill is due.
The county commissioners approved American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the kiosk and software earlier this year at a one-time cost of $8,850. The annual maintenance costs will total $4,045, with $795 for the hardware and $3,250 for the software, and come from the treasurer's budget.
Supply chain issues delayed the delivery and programming of the unit. Right now, Blakeman noted that only people with delinquent accounts or who are on the payment plan will be able to make use of the machine since the new tax bills won't come due until Feb. 17, 2023 for the first half and July 28, 2023 for the second half. The payment plan program allows for monthly payments of the property taxes.
Now instead of waiting in line at the office, taxpayers will be able to walk up to the kiosk when the courthouse is open, make a payment with cash, check or credit/debit card and receive a printed receipt. The kiosk has a counterfeit verifier for cash bills fed into the machine. Checks can also be inserted to read and then pulled back out or credit or debit cards can be used, but there is a small convenience fee added of 2.5 percent for credit cards and $1.50 for eChecks. No money orders will be accepted at the kiosk.
Blakeman said a big part of the reason people come to pay their property tax in person is to get that proof that they paid and the kiosk provides that with the printed receipt. Taxpayers can type in their name or even just hold their bill with the parcel number up to the reader and their bill can be accessed. Multiple parcels can be paid at once, too.
"This is far less expensive than hiring additional help," he said.
During tax time, he plans to hang out by the kiosk to assist taxpayers using the machine for the first time. It's no different than using an ATM at the bank, but people will still have the ability to go into the office if they want. He noted that the machine uses the same encryption system as banks and cash will never be left in there overnight.
New tax information for next year's bills will be uploaded in January.
Blakeman said he also wants to invite any other municipalities interested in having a kiosk at their locations to contact him. Both East Liverpool and Columbiana have already expressed interest. He said it's possible if the kiosks are installed, county property taxpayers could pay their bills at the other locations, along with other bills for the communities in question. He said the cost could be split between the municipality and the county.
The idea of the other locations came from Columbiana City Manager Lance Willard. Nothing has happened yet regarding other locations, but Blakeman envisions people being able to pay their property taxes along with city utilities, such as water and sewer bills, or in some cases, electric or garbage bills.