BENTON COUNTY — A change in state law and a quirk of the calendar have given property owners an extra weekto get their payments in to the collector’s offices in Benton and Washington counties.

The deadline for paying property taxes is now set by law asOct. 15. Since that date falls on Saturday this year, the deadline becomes the next regular business day, which is Oct. 17.

Gloria Peterson, Benton County collector, said business has been brisk at all of the collector’s office locations.

“We’ve had a steady flow at all of our offices,” Peterson said. “They’re coming in and they’re starting to use the drop boxes.”

Peterson said the change in the due date from Oct. 10 to Oct. 15, coupled with the countywide reappraisal Benton County property owners have gone through in 2011, has caused less confusion than she expected. Given Arkansas’ property tax system, with taxes collected a year after they’re assessed, even longtime residents can be confused by changes, she said.

Glenn “Bear” Chaney, Benton County assessor, said his office made it a point of emphasis during the reappraisal process to alert people to the delay in the effective date of any changes to their property values. The changes made this year will be reflected in next year’s tax bills, Chaney said.

“We have tried to explain that to everyone,” Chaney said. “We have had people who, after they were done dealing with our office or the equalization board say ‘So, this is what I’ll be paying in October,’ and we’ve had to explain to them that the taxes you are paying this year are from last year’s assessment. It’s something we go through every year, it seems like.”

Peterson said she’s seen or heard very few complaints from taxpayers.

“Everyone has been really nice to work with and under the circumstances out there, I think that’s great,” she said.

The revenue from property taxes goes to support local schools, city governments and county government. The level of property taxes varies according to the location of the property as different school districts and cities will have different millage rates.

Benton County has come to depend on property taxes as its main source of revenue over the past decade according to information from Richard McComas county comptroller.

According to a report McComas prepared for the Benton County Quorum Court during the preparation of the 2011 budget the county’s property tax revenue in 2002 amountedto roughly a third of the overall revenue, providing the county with about $7.6 million. Sales tax revenue was another third and other sources, including jail fees, court fines, road turnback and excess collector commissions, excess treasurer commissions and excess assessor commissions, made up the other third of the county’s revenue in 2002.

By 2005, property tax revenue was $13.3 million and accounted for about 40 percent of the county’s income, according to Mc-Comas’ budget information. In 2008 that jumped to about $20 million, which was 48 percent of the county’s income, and McComas estimated property taxes will be 56 percent of the county’s revenue in 2011 with an estimated total of just under $23 million.

Peterson said that while taxpayers can wait until Oct. 17 to pay, she would suggest they exercise a little caution if they plan to mail their payments.

“If it’s postmarked by midnight on Monday it’s OK, but we ask taxpayers if they’re going to mail it that they not wait until Monday,” she said. “Leave a little room there for caution If you have it postmarked on Friday or Saturday, it’s much less likely that anything can go wrong.”

News, Pages 1 on 10/12/2011