By mid-week Lawrence County property owners will open their mail to discover it’s tax time once again. The first half tax bills are expected to be in the mail today and Thursday with their due date Feb. 25.

“We are hoping to collect over $26 million, which is what we collected for the first half last year,” County Treasurer Stephen Burcham said. “We are hoping to meet and exceed that number. It has been steadily increasing over the last few years. We have been more diligent in our collection efforts.”

Burcham’s office will send out approximately 49,000 bills, with some for multiple parcels.

As in the past property owners can come to the courthouse and pay by cash, check or credit card. Visa, Discover and Master Card are accepted.

They can also pay at five area banks: US Bank, City National, Ohio River, Ohio Valley and Liberty Federal. WesBanco will not participate in the project and PNC has never offered this service.

“It does say (WesBanco) will take them on the back of the tax bills. We confirmed prior to printing them, but they decided to withdraw after the tax bills were printed,” Burcham said. “This is simply a matter of trying to make it easier and another service offered by the banks for the taxpayers of Lawrence County. And you don’t have to be a customer. If you are a WesBanco or PNC customer, you could go to one of the participating banks.”

Last year approximately 10 percent of taxes collected come through the banking program.

Payment plans may be set up for those who owe back taxes or who want to pay future taxes on a monthly basis.

“We have over 400 people on payment plans,” Burcham said. “If someone is having trouble, we urge them to set up a payment plan. They can make monthly payments. We have a few people come in and pay three or four years in advance.”

A taxpayer can’t be set up on a contract for back taxes until he or she becomes delinquent.

“I am not allowed to extend the deadline on an individual basis or waive the deadline,” Burcham said. “Now would be the time to set up a payment plan for the second half, if someone is having trouble meeting the first half. … They should pay as much as they can before the deadline to avoid a penalty.”

Once someone is on a contract for back taxes there is no penalty or interest during the term of the contract as long as they pay on time and the current half taxes as they come due.

“Generally speaking we try to set everybody up on a two-year plan,” he said. “We can go longer, we try to work with people. Times have been tough. They have been tough around here for a long time.”

If a taxpayers hasn’t received a tax bill by Feb. 9, they are asked to contact the treasurer’s office for a duplicate.