Procrastinators Tax Postal Workers

As usual, hordes of Ventura County residents waited until the last minute Friday to file their income tax returns.

And like just about every other April 15, bushels of government workers were ready to accommodate them.

“This whole week has been really hectic,” said Harlene Hartwell, one of five Internal Revenue Service counter workers who fielded questions from the steady flow of people who jammed the IRS office in Oxnard Friday morning.

“Just wait ‘till lunch, when people start getting off work. It will just be a mess then,” said Hartwell, an 18-year IRS veteran.

Things were just as hectic at the main post office in Oxnard. The office was one of only three post offices in Ventura County scheduled to remain open until midnight Friday to keep up with the last-minute rush to mail tax documents.

The other post offices that remained open were in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.

Some filers at the Oxnard office lined up to mail their forms the easy way: through the car window. Inside, lines 10-people deep at four windows kept mail clerks busy all day, postal clerk Margaret Wayne said.

But the real crunch was expected after 5 p.m., when most people get off work and head in desperation to the post office, said Jim Hanlon, customer service supervisor.

Some people get so cautious they insist on sending their returns by certified mail, even though the post office guarantees to postmark them by April 15.

“People who do it are concerned,” he said diplomatically. “And there are quite a few people who are concerned when they deal with the government.”

Loretta Judd had her tax return completed, and envelope addressed and stamped. But she still made a mad dash to the IRS office in Oxnard Friday to find a form for her mother.

Both her parents have been recently incapacitated, Judd explained, so she had to file an extension for them, the 51-year-old Ventura woman said.

“I’m not usually so late,” she said.

Brian Shook, perhaps reflecting the attitude of his Bart Simpson T-shirt that proclaimed “Eat My Shorts, Man,” said he too was seeking more time to figure out how much he owes.

Shook, a self-employed carpenter, said he had not taken the time to file an extension until the last day because he had been too busy. And it’s a hassle doing taxes when you own your own business, he said.

“I’ve got to find someone to figure it out for me,” he said. “And all the accountants are too busy this time of year.”

Jay Borenstein, a certified public accountant with Jacobs & Jacobs in Thousand Oaks, said his office got requests Friday to file last-minute extensions, but nothing more urgent. “We seem to have things pretty much under control,” he said.