MANSFIELD — Richland County residents may have a new option in 2023 when it comes to paying property taxes — a self-serve kiosk in county Treasurer Bart Hamilton’s office.
Hamilton discussed the idea with county commissioners on Tuesday, joined by Brad Lewis, president of F&E Payment Pros, a “payment processing solutions” company from Northfield, Ohio.
Hamilton said he has been looking at the self-serve kiosk technology for years, but found it had been cost prohibitive.
“Years ago, this type of technology was $40,000 or $50,000. In my mind, that was just too expensive for us. And now we’re getting into that $12,000 to $15,000 kind of range. And I think this is something we need to look at,” the treasurer said.
“This is technology that could be used throughout the county for other offices, as well.”
Residents have the option now of paying property taxes by mail, online or in person. Those coming to the treasurer’s office to make payments, especially near deadline, may encounter lines and the self-serve kiosk could relieve that wait, according to Hamilton.
“You’re still gonna have our window. You’re still gonna have all of our smiling faces at the counter that can wait on you. And there are gonna be a lot of things that you’re still gonna want to use that counter for if you’ve got a lot of questions or a (long list of properties to make payments for),” Hamilton said.
He compared it to visiting the grocery store and deciding between a checkout line or choosing a self-serve machine.
“That’s really what this is about. It’s a convenience for the taxpayer,” Hamilton said.
Lewis, who said he has owned F&E for 18 years, said his company developed the software logistics that operate the machines in multiple Ohio counties and also in other states.
“It was real estate taxes that got us into the marketplace. Like Bart says, there’s people that want that personal, social experience of going and paying their bill, and you’re not gonna steer them to the electronics.
“Interestingly enough, on that first installation as I was watching users, there was was three tellers in the treasurer’s office. None of them had a person in there.
“And a guy came up and used the kiosk to pay the bills. I asked him afterwards, he was from a title (company) and he said, ‘No offense, Brad, but I gotta get in and get outta here,'” Lewis said.
Lewis said his kiosks are used for multiple county and city offices, including clerk of courts to accept fine payments, dog shelters to process adoption costs, sheriff’s offices to accept license fees and auditor’s offices to handle dog-license purchases.
“We do own the programming. We actually assemble the kiosks in our offices up in Northfield, which is right between Cleveland and Akron. We try to source (materials) as much as we can locally,” he said.
Lewis told commissioners the cost of a kiosk is between $10,000 to $12,000 with an annual licensing fee of $3,500. Additional kiosks could be purchased at discounted prices for the machines and license fees, he said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks questioned the need for a kiosk since residents have many other payment options now.
“If it’s convenient for me that I can pick up my phone and pay you from home, this (in-office) kiosk certainly isn’t as convenient,” Banks said.
Hamilton responded, “When you come in my office the day of the real estate due date or the day before, or a couple days before, and you go through our (courthouse) security and you come through my door and you see a whole lobby full of people and there are lines and that (kiosk) is available, I think that’s worth it for you.”
No decision was made on Tuesday. Hamilton said he may put the kiosk into his office’s budget for 2023, using a mixture of general fund money and revenue derived from his delinquent tax and assessment collection fund.
“The more DTAC money (Hamilton) puts in, the more likely it is to be approved,” Commissioner Tony Vero said.
