Official Payments website would allow residents to pay for car decals
Residents of Dumfries must place a decal on their car windshield to prove the paid their annual personal property tax.
Now town leaders are looking at using the online Official Payments portal used by various other government agencies to collect the $24 fee for the decal.
Should members of the Town Council choose to use the Official Payments website, residents would pay a total of $25.50 to purchase their town decal. The web payment service collects $1.50 per transaction – money kept by Official Payments for the use of their services.
Currently, the town’s treasurer each year uses a list containing the names and addresses of town residents who have not paid for their decals. A letter reminding residents that decal fees are due is then mailed to those who have not already purchased.
“[residents] do send their money in with that letter and the town treasurer sends their decal out to the residents,” said Theresa Young, Dumfries IT manager.
Young researched area counties such as Prince William, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, and found they also residents to use the Official Payments website to collect tax payments. But these larger jurisdictions also collect payments for services like water bills, real estate taxes, and parking citations. Young said similar options may not work in the town as residents send payment for many of those items directly to Prince William County.
Town Mayor Gerald Foreman says residents would be better served if they could go online to fill out tax forms for payment. He also called for working together with Prince William County tax officials and to use the same database to see who has and has not paid their personal property taxes.
“We need to partner with prince William County, now we don’t have to chase vehicles,” said Foreman.
