Here is your check back...What??

Photo by Victor Davila

I recently received my vehicle excise tax bill. As many other people in the city, I didn't have the full amount to send in right away. So, what did I do? No, I didn't pull a State Rep. Ben Swan move and pretended that I didn't have a civic responsibility to pay my taxes !! I send the city a partial payment. A couple of days later, I received the check back with an explanation that the city could not credit partial payments. What!! I send the City money and they wouldn't take my money?? I put this annoyance in the back burner and a few weeks later I called the agency in charge of tax collection for the City of Springfield, Deputy Tax Collectors based in Milford, Ma. After, a series of questions to the clerks, I got a snotty, Who are you, are you a reporter? I promptly answered, no, I am a tax payer inquiring why the City of Springfield is not taking my money. After being placed on hold for a few minutes(which seemed to be forever ) the clerk came back with a miraculous new attitude. The clerk emphasized to me several times that the reason the city couldn't take my money, was because it was the law. Oh, boy what an explanation!! I reminded the clerk that just because it is the law, it is not necessarily a good law, or that it makes sense. I posed this question to the clerk. Would you rather a million dollars today or a year from now. The clerks answer? That's right, the clerk answered, I rather have a million dollars now. AHHH, exactly my point. Money has time value. A million dollars today is not a million dollars a year from now. Interest rates, inflation, consumer confidence are among some factor that affect money flow.This law doesn't make any sense to me. The City of Springfield could be using partial payments to swell the city's revenue and help to improve or expand city services. In the meantime, I will have to send in the whole amount. Really, I will.