Commissioner waives property tax penalties Combating the coronavirus
Commissioner shares updates on county’s efforts to contain the contagion
Walker County will temporarily waive penalties and interest on valorem, occupational and hotelmotel taxes.
Sole Commissioner Shannon Whitfield passed two waiver resolutions during a March 26 emergency meeting that was streamed live on Facebook, noting that the COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted “all aspects of life.” Self-isolation and precautionary steps to restrict government operations and public gatherings have limited the ability of citizens to interact and to conduct business with county government offices.
One resolution instructs the tax commissioner’s office, at its discretion, “to waive, in whole or part, the collection of penalties and interest assessed as a result of a taxpayer’s
Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield said he monitors and evaluates daily the status of the coronavirus and hopes he will not need to issue a curfew.
Whitfield, answered questions submitted through Facebook after completing the business on the agenda for the March 26 emergency commissioner’s meeting, which was streamed live. The questions were all related to the outbreak, including whether any cases had been confirmed in the county.
“I do feel like we will have to take additional steps real soon to try to limit this exposure,” he said. “At this time we do not have a stay-at-home order, but we do ask people to stay home as much as you possibly can to protect yourself and your family.”
Whitfield explained that he feels confident that there are cases of the virus in Walker County, but he has not been notified by the Board of Health of any confirmed cases as of the time of the meeting.
The sole commissioner urged residents to continue to practice social distancing and to stay home as much as possible. He said he continues to follow the guidance from the governor’s office, health department and Centers for Disease Control.
A citizen asked the commissioner about safety at large industries in the county.
Representatives from the largest employers in the county shared with him their proactive steps to combat the virus so that the contagion does not shut down their entire operations, he said. While Roper Corp. in LaFayette has been closed this week, the plant has been cleaned and sanitized, and when it reopens, it will do so with only one production line. He praised Roper’s efforts.
If someone has symptoms and needs to be tested, he reminded citizens of the importance of calling the medical office or facility first for instructions, not just showing up and possibly exposing staff and other patients needlessly to the virus. He reported that CHI Memorial’s hospital in Fort Oglethorpe and facility in Lafayette have testing kits, as does Primary Healthcare in Fairview.
failure to comply with laws relating to ad valorem (property) taxation, where such failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to gross or willful neglect or disregard of the law.”
The waivers apply to personal property tax bills and fees due to the planning office with an original payment date between March 13 and July 31, 2020, and is valid until the local state of emergency is lifted. Penalties and interest on any unpaid balance will begin to accrue after the
state of emergency ends, according to the resolutions.
Normally a property owner who does not pay property taxes within 120 days of the due date, April 1, accrues a penalty of 5% of the due amount. Taxes owed to the government incur interest at the bank prime rate plus 3% beginning on the due date.
Transient lodging businesses that fail to pay hotelmotel taxes by the 20th of each month are also subject to delinquent tax penalties.
The resolutions give “our citizens more time to pay these taxes that are due without having to have any penalties or interest accrued,” Whitfield explained.