At the request of Marshall County Treasurer, Penny Lukenbill, the County Council approved outsourcing the printing of tax statements.
Lukenbill said, “For the past 15 to 18 years the treasurer’s office has printed tax bills in house.” It takes five full time people a full week to print, fold and stuff over 35,500 statements. She estimated the cost to be $17,500 or approximately $.50 per tax bill including postage.
State statue now mandates having tax bills in the hands of the property owners at least 15 business days prior to their due date. Lukenbill explained that they are the last department before tax bills go out and the with a shorter time period any like issue, like a printer that quits working could cause major issues.
She proposed hiring Manatron Thompson Reuters at an estimated cost of just over $21,000. They say they can get the tax statements in the hands of the property owners two to three days quicker.
The only issue is that Lukenbill only budgeted $17,500 so she will need an additional appropriation to fulfill the agreement.
The council agreed with the treasure’s recommendation and voted unanimously to outsource the printing of tax statements.
