V.I. Government officials are finally ready to collect some money.
The 2005 property tax bills — which were originally supposed to be sent out in June 2006 — are expected to be mailed at the end of the month, according to Celeste Lawrence, spokesperson for the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.
“We expect to send them out at the end of this month — we are working on it,” said Lawrence.
While “software issues” was the major reason for the hold-up, a glitch in the collections office system also contributed to the delay, Lawrence explained.
“A new financial management entry system was implemented at the end of October and there were some problems,” said Lawrence. “We couldn’t send the bills out until the bills were able to be collected. We also had issues getting the bills printed and what have you.”
Bills Will Reflect 1998 Rates
The 2005 property tax bills will reflect 1998 tax levels and not the controversial property revaluation rates, which could increase property taxes hundred-fold for some St. John residents.
The revaluation project — which could increase one person’s rate because of the size of a home their neighbor constructed — is still continuing, with the data collection phase almost complete, according to Lawrence.
Once the 2005 tax bills are sent out, Gov. John deJongh will have to issue an executive order setting a new due date, which is expected to be at least a few months away.