Postal scanner error causes return of property tax check payments

Since Wednesday, January 17, almost 300 Town of Islip residents reported to the Receiver of Taxes' Office that their property tax payment enclosed in the TOI preprinted envelope, due by January 10, had been returned to them by the post office.

While the post office is still actively investigating what caused the scanner at the Mid-Island center to malfunction and deem the preprinted envelope unreadable, preliminary reports shared with Receiver of Taxes, Andrew Wittman, point towards a maintenance issue where lasers may not have been properly cleaned. 

Residents were assured that if their envelope, with a postmark date before January 10 was presented to the Receiver's office, the 1% penalty fee would be waived.

While paying property taxes online is an option, the automated system will charge the 1% (e.g. $60 additional on a $6,000 tax bill) as it is past the January 10 due date. 

Wittman said he is closely monitoring the situation with the post office, but is optimistic the issue has been resolved for additional checks as the envelopes affected seem to be those mailed around January 4.

The Receiver of Taxes Office will be processing refunds for those who can prove they mailed out their payment prior to the January 10 deadline, but paid online subsequently.

With the overhaul of the Receiver of Taxes webpage being a key campaigning point of Wittman for his reelection, he stressed the system's user-friendliness with senior citizen members of the community.