Ramsey County tax bills (finally) in the mail

After a nearly monthlong delay, Ramsey County has mailed out all 160,000 property tax statements for 2010.

COMING SOON: Property owners should get the bills in the mail by Thursday at the latest, said Mark Oswald, director of Property Records and Revenue. He gave county commissioners a brief update on the issue during their Tuesday meeting.

COMPUTER GLITCH, OF COURSE: The county rolled out a new software system this year, and a computer glitch was causing discrepancies in tax calculations that led to inaccurate bills. The county didn't want to send out inaccurate bills.

First-half property tax bills are due May 17 and, had the mailings been delayed, that date would have had to change.

Valuation notices to determine taxes for 2011 were sent out earlier this spring. Usually the notices and tax bills are mailed together.

County officials had said the delay was more of an inconvenience for folks than anything else.

The county budgeted about $2.4 million for the new systems. Oswald called the switch "monumental."

SOME COUNTIES DROP SYSTEM: At least 11 of the 28 Minnesota counties that bought the $6.5 million system, produced by a Michigan firm called Manatron, have abandoned it and are considering suing the company because of concerns over accuracy and delays. The company handles about 750,000 property tax records in Minnesota.

Manatron has said it's difficult to replace old, complex systems that have been in place for decades. Still, the company said it expects the project to be successful.