Almost a month after a property tax payment was mailed at the Luverne post office, the letter was delivered to the Rock County Auditor-Treasurer Office in Luverne.
Robert Stegenga of Luverne mailed the $40,903 check Nov. 13, but it didn’t reach the courthouse in time to meet the Nov. 15 deadline.
“It sounds like it made the rounds,” said County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
Stegenga faced a late payment penalty of $1,889.68 due by Dec. 31 along with the $40,903 tax payment.
The envelope that Stegenga had mailed prior to Nov. 15 arrived crumpled and smudged at the courthouse on Dec. 11. The check, in the correct amount, was not damaged.
“The envelope was about half open on the top and the bottom,” said auditor-treasurer Ashley Kurtz. “There were multiple postmarks on it.”
Minneapolis and Greensboro, North Carolina, are among the postmarks on the envelope.
“But I can make out a postmark that says Nov. 13, which is all we were looking for,” she said.
Commissioners had received a request from Stegenga to forgive the penalties because he had mailed the tax payment before the due date. But the commissioners voted not to abate any late payment penalties at their Dec. 3 meeting unless the county received the original payment showing a postmark.
With the Dec. 11 delivery of Stegenga’s payment to the courthouse showing a postmark before the Nov. 15 tax payment date, his Rock County property taxes are considered paid in full and no late penalties are due.