In the first full fiscal year since the departure of former tax collector Karen Guillet, the tax collection rate is down slightly in Oxford.
The collection rate at the end of February was at 96.8 percent — while the collection for the previous year was 97.9 percent.
The total to be collected stands at $31.5 million and the tax collector’s office has collected $30.46 million, officials said.
Collecting less tax money than expected can create problems for the town’s budget, but Finance Director James Hliva does not expect a problem.
Staff in both the tax collector’s office and Hliva’s offices have been working extra hours to straighten the disarray left by former tax collector Karen Guillet.
Guillet is the subject of a criminal probe being conducted by the state police.
The town is suing her in civil court, claiming she misappropriated tax payments, operating the office like a “Ponzi scheme.”
