COUNTYWIDE : Today Is Deadline for Tax Payments

A last-minute rush of taxpayers is expected at the Ventura County Government Center today, the final day to pay property taxes without penalties this year.

The county expects to collect more than $220 million from the 225,000 returns mailed out this tax period, said John McKinney, assistant county tax collector.

The economic recession has not affected this year’s property tax collections, McKinney said. As of last week, tax revenues were up 5% compared to last year.

“Property is more stable than most other economic indicators,” McKinney said. “Even before the recession, you had homes under construction and purchased, especially in the higher-income areas.”

The department hires 20 temporary employees to open the thousands of letters that come in every day and to sort out the payments, McKinney said. A check-sorting machine handles about 3,500 checks per hour during the peak season.

During the most hectic payment periods, McKinney and his boss, Hal Pittman, county tax collector, help desk employees deal with taxpayers.

“I may be one of the only tax collectors around who actually physically takes the payments,” Pittman said. “I tell (taxpayers) that, if they want to holler at someone, they should holler at me.”