How can you tell city taxes or bills are due? Look for the long lines at Dearborn City Hall.
But the city's Treasury Department is aiming to change that, and is encouraging residents to take advantage of a number of payment options for taxes and other bills—no waiting in line necessary.
These options are paying by mail, internet or phone; and using the city’s drop boxes.
Residents will benefit from using one of the electronic options, especially as the treasury department moves to a system with less cashiers accepting payments starting in January 2013.
At that time, the city will also stop offering residents a "paid" stamp on their bills.
Here's a look at some of the other payment options:
- Automated Clearing House: Dearborn taxpayers can have their tax bill amounts withdrawn directly from their bank accounts just prior to the tax due date. There is no charge for customers to use this payment method. Forms to sign up for ACH payments are available at www.cityofdearborn.org/paymentoptions, or in the public information rack outside the Treasury Division at City Hall.
- Online payments: Any taxpayer in Dearborn can pay property taxes, miscellaneous invoices, special assessments and delinquent personal property taxes online at www.cityofdearborn.org/paymentoptions. There is a convenience fee for this service.
- By phone: Any taxpayer in Dearborn can pay property taxes, miscellaneous invoices, special assessments and delinquent personal property taxes by phone at 1-866-518-2301. There is a nominal convenience fee for this service.
- By mail: As another cost-saving measure, the Treasury Division retired its in-house equipment to process tax payments and other bills and contracted with a company to process mailed payments in a secure and effective manner. This is called a lockbox processor. Treasury encourages customers to mail their payments to the lockbox processor. Residents are asked to obtain a money order or check and place these payments in the mail.
- Drop Box at City Hall: Payments put in the payment drop boxes at City Hall are bundled by Treasury staff and picked up by courier each day and delivered to the lockbox processor. Treasury does not process drop box payments directly.
Residents should never put cash in the drop box. Payments should only be made with a money order or a check.
Please contact the Treasury Office at 943-2045 for more information.
