Online property, tax searches to hit Web site July 1
Want to find out how much you owe in property taxes? How many bedrooms the house down the street has? What the appraised value of that business is?
Now you can — in your pajamas, if you're so inclined.
No, we're not talking about a new service for lunatics who like to drive around in their sleepwear. It's a new way of discovering county property and taxation information over the Internet.
Starting July 1, the offices of the county appraiser and the county treasurer will offer extensive public information on Marion County's new Web site: http://www.marion.kansasgov.com.
The county site has been in the works for at least three years, said County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman. But instead of having just a "plain jane" site, the Web address will have more to offer customers than just phone numbers and hours of operation.
Through the software company Infinitec, which designed the Web page, each division of the county will have its own section of the Web site to post information on.
And for the appraiser and treasurer offices, that means a database of already-public information.
The new service should make county information more accessible to customers, said County Appraiser Dianna Carter. There are no office hours to worry about, no driving in the car to the courthouse — in other words, no hassle.
On the appraiser's section of the Web site, users will be able to search through the various residential and commercial properties throughout Marion County. Customers can pull up properties by name or address, Carter said.
Once they've found a specific property, users can see that property's legal information, including appraised value and even the number of bedrooms it has, Carter said. The search should especially be a boon for real estate agents.
And if you want to find out how much property tax a specific building pays, head over to Bateman's segment of the Web site. Not only can you find out how much tax someone else is paying, but you can pay your own property tax bill while you're online.
Residents can also see lists of county mill levies.
Soon, Bateman hopes to have a vehicle tax estimator on the site as well, in case you're looking at a new vehicle and want to know how much you'd pay in taxes before you fork over the cash.
Both women wanted customers to know that they still encourage people to visit the office in person or call over the phone if they need information. They realize that not everyone in the county uses the Internet.
All the county offices are excited about the new site, they said.
