County: 2014 taxes almost tardy
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 28, 2014 1:50 AM
Wayne County taxpayers have less than two weeks remaining in which to pay their 2014 property taxes before they will have to add a late payment penalty to their bill.
The county sent out 71,000 tax bills in August that were actually due on Sept. 1. However, the taxes are not delinquent until after 5 p.m. on Jan. 5.
A 2 percent interest will be added to bills not paid by the deadline.
An additional three-quarters of a percent is added at the first of each following month to any outstanding balance until the bill is paid.
Wayne County Tax Administrator Alan Lumpkin said he did not yet have any figures as to how many people already have paid.
Taxpayers have several methods available for paying their bills.
People can still pay in person at the tax office on the first floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex or use a drop box located on the Ormond Avenue side of the courthouse.
They can also remove the bottom portion of the bill, write a check and mail it in.
Bills that are mailed must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service no later than Jan. 5 to be considered on time.
Postmarks by office stamp machines are not considered on time even if they are postmarked by Jan. 5.
People can pay online or by phone, but both those methods carry an additional fee collected by the company that provides the service. The county does not receive any revenue from the fee.
The Wayne County Tax Department also handles the billing for all of the county's fire districts and municipalities, with the exception of Walnut Creek, which does its own tax billing.
The county collects a fee equal to 1.75 percent of the municipal taxes collected.
The county tax rate is 66.65 cents per $100 of property valuation.
Municipal tax rates per $100 of property valuation are: Goldsboro, 65 cents; Fremont, 65 cents; Mount Olive, 59 cents; Eureka, 70 cents; Pikeville 60 cents; Seven Springs, 54 cents; and Walnut Creek, 38 cents.
People can call the tax collection office at 919-731-1478 or go online at www.waynegov.com to look at their bill.