The bell on round two of city taxes sounded this week as motor vehicle owners received their tax bills.

Usually, the motor vehicle bills are mailed in mid-June along with real estate bills, but this year both bills ran late and the quarterly payment deadline of July 15 was extended.

The deadline for the first payment of property taxes without interest is July 31, and the quarterly payment on motor vehicles has been extended to Aug. 15. Those selecting to make full payment of either the motor vehicle excise tax or property taxes have until Sept. 15.

With newly received motor vehicle tax bills in their hands, a line snaked into the tax collector’s office Wednesday morning.

“Well, this is better than the other place,” said one taxpayer, referencing offices at the former Greene School on Draper Street that became the temporary home for most municipal offices when the City Hall Annex was closed in January 2018 because of a burst water pipe. With the exception of personnel, community development and MIS, municipal offices have again been relocated to the Buttonwoods Community Center on West Shore Road.

Although some taxpayers didn’t wait after seeing the line, the process was relatively fast, with no more than a 20-minute wait for most.

There are alternatives to paying in person, including depositing the payment in a locked box outside the center, mail, online bank payment, credit or debit card payment and e-check.

Tax Collector Kyla Jones reminded taxpayers there’s a “convenience fee” of 2.5 percent of the payment or $3.95, whichever is higher, to the vendor that manages credit and debit card payments. There is also a slightly more modest fee for e-checks, she said.

There is no fee accompanying online bank payments.

Tax payments by mail can be sent directly to the Tax Collector at Warwick City Hall or to City of Warwick-Tax, PO Box 981027, Boston, MA 02298-1027. The check should include the control number on the invoice.

Jones explained Tax Assessor Neal Dupuis decided to delay issuance of car tax bills until the state finalized the latest phase of the elimination of the excise tax through increases in the exemption, reduction in value applied and a reduction in municipal tax rates.

Mayor Joseph Solomon endorsed the delay.

“Isn’t it better to get an accurate tax bill?” he asked Wednesday, predicting that because of the state plan “many people [will] see a significant decline in their motor vehicle tax bills this year.”

In addition, he noted that had the city guessed on what version of the plan to implement – that favored by Speaker Nicholas Matteillo or Gov. Gina Raimondo – and been wrong, the city would have been put in the position of issuing refunds or credits, “which would be an accounting nightmare or an unnecessary additional cost and inconvenience.” Mattiello’s plan calling for a larger cut in the tax was enacted.

“That slight delay resulted in a late send out of those tax bills, but the bills are accurate and with the reduction, it will be a savings to do it this way,” Solomon said.

While the city sends return envelopes with utility bills, it has not done so for tax bills after 2013 when Citizens Bank took on direct deposit of payments through a Boston office.

LINED UP:

Taxpayers waited to pay their bills Wednesday at the tax collector’s office in the Buttonwoods Community Center. For most people, the wait was no more than 20 minutes. (Warwick Beacon photo)