Town of Montville Finance Director Terry Hart described how the new lock-box payment system works.
"On July 1, 2012, the Town of Montville set up a lockbox service to receive tax payments through Chelsea Groton Bank, a local bank where the town does business. The reason the Town decided to utilize a lockbox service was for speed and efficiency. Also, funds are available in a quicker manner.
Payments are sent to a lockbox in Woburn, Massachusetts. This is because lockbox services are located in places where mail is delivered often. If a payment just misses delivery, the town does not have to wait one business day to receive this payment. This gives us more opportunities to capture payments and have them deposited in our account. Once the deposits are received, the file is electronically sent to the Tax Collector. The file is uploaded and updates the taxpayers’ accounts. This is a much faster process than entering each payment individually. There is no charge for this service because the Town keeps funds deposited in Chelsea Groton Bank.
The Tax Office also accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa credit cards, debit cards and electronic checks to make a payment. Credit card companies charge a convenience fee for using their cards. The Town passes this fee on to the taxpayer, which is usually about 3% of the transaction amount. The charge for an electronic check is $2.95.
Taxpayers can view and pay their bill online using a credit card or electronic check. This is a new feature added to the Town’s website. It is located under the Tax Collector Department tab.
The second installment of the 2012-13 real estate tax bills and motor vehicle supplement bills will be sent out January 1, 2013 and due on February 1, 2013. For your convenience payments can be made online or by mailing payment to Montville Tax Collector, P.O. Box 4179, Woburn, MA 01888-4179.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terry Hart, Finance Director at 860-848-3030 ext 314 or at finance@montville-ct.org.
