Kodiak Island Borough first-half property taxes due Monday, borough page still says Saturday

Kodiak Island Borough property owners who miss Monday's first-half property tax deadline will owe a 10 percent penalty immediately, plus 1 percent interest for every month or fraction of a month the balance goes unpaid.

The borough set that deadline at Monday, August 17, in a notice posted August 10, and its home page carries the same date, telling payers the last day to make a timely first-half payment is Monday, August 17. Its standing property tax page still tells payers the first half is due August 15, a Saturday this year. The two pages have not been reconciled, and August 17 is the date the borough is publishing now.

Interest runs from the date of delinquency until the bill is paid in full or until a foreclosure sale, according to the borough's property tax page. Only bills over $50 may be paid in halves. A bill of $50 or less, or one whose first half is missed, must be paid in full by October 15. Missing Monday collapses the year's tax into an October 15 payment with penalty and interest already attached.

A payment counts as on time only if it reaches the cashier's office by the due date or carries a United States Postal Service postmark, not a metered machine mark, from before midnight. "Postal office processes have changed, please make sure to have your envelopes hand-canceled by staff at the post office counter to ensure a timely date stamp," the borough said in its notice.

The bills rest on rates the Assembly set in June, voting 5-2 to adopt an areawide mill rate of 8.75, rejecting an amendment that would have raised it to 9.15 for schools. Of that 8.75, the Education Support Fund takes 7.35 mills.

Unpaid taxes head toward foreclosure proceedings that usually begin in January. Under state law, owners then have one year to redeem the property by paying everything owed before the borough can retain or sell it.

The account here is the borough's own, drawn from its notice, its property tax page and its code. The Borough Cashier takes payments in person at 710 Mill Bay Road from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., online through the borough website, and by credit card at 907-486-9324.