Cass residents may be able to pay property taxes with credit card, and by phone or e-mail

WALKER -- Cass County residents likely will be able to pay their property taxes by credit card via telephone or e-mail this fall.

Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson reported to the county board Tuesday a system has been prepared to make this possible.

Further details will be announced this fall when the county board officially authorizes the system.

Tuesday, the board approved permitting electronic transfers of county funds for county investments, based on a new electronic fund transfer policy.

Anderson reported county general fund investments through July are running about one and a half times as much as predicted in the budget for this year.

The county anticipated receiving $408,333.33 on general fund investments, but actually has received $612,487.13 through July this year.

Highway department fund investments are slightly below projections at $23,294.07, compared with the anticipated $29,166.67.

Health and Human Services fund investments ran $44,623.24 through July, compared with the anticipated $43,750.

The board voted Tuesday to accept a $32,732 U.S. Bureau of Justice assistance local law enforcement block grant.

The sheriff plans to use the grant to continue to participate in the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force.

The board accepted its consultant DMG Maximus' recommendation to set the newly described data entry position in the sheriff's office at Grade 14 on the county pay scale.

The Cass County Council on Aging presented its 2002 budget request for an annual increase from $88,264 this year to $96,212 next year.

The increase is designed to permit paying the coordinator of aging services enough to permit her to buy medical insurance and to cover anticipated postage increases.

That agency's budget includes $48,000 annually to pay mileage to volunteer drivers who transport senior citizens to medical services.

The commissioners referred the request to the county budget committee.

They went on record calling for a federal government review of Medicare cuts in payments to ambulance services scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2002.