Noting it is cheaper to contract the work out, the Barton County Commission Monday morning approved hiring an Arizona company to handle the bulk mailing of the county’s tax valuation notices. 

State statutes require the notices to be mailed by March 1, County Appraiser Barb Esfeld said. And, having an outside vendor handle the job is nothing new.

This year, the county is going with Marana, Ariz.-based Komtek at a cost of $8,761.50. A software company, it is a relative newcomer to this sort of bulk mailing, Esfeld said.

However, she said Komtek does mailings for Riley and McPherson counties. “They are very pleased.”

So, after reviewing options, the Appraiser’s Office determined that using Komtek to create valuation notices, mailing labels and envelopes is the most effective method for creating and mailing the notices.

Esfeld said the price charged by Komtek is lower than what the county paid in the past. For a few years, the county contracted with Postal Presort of Wichita. 

Postal Presort did a good job, Esfeld said. However, the total for last year’s work was $9,157, which was $418 over the company’s estimate.  There is not a big difference, but Postal Presort final bill was routinely more than expected. Also, Komtek requires less preparatory work on the county’s part.

As for doing the mailing in-house, Esfeld said contracting saves the county at least $2,000 in paper, envelops and printing costs. That doesn’t include the labor involved for her staff that has to turn around and immediately start on next year’s tax values.