(WSBT) Local counties are preparing to mail out property tax rebate checks, and they're also preparing to pay for it … with your tax dollars.

If you filed for a 2007 homestead exemption, your property tax rebate should be on the way either next month or in January.

The state legislature is requiring county governments to send those checks along with a letter explaining what it is.

County officials say cutting those checks, writing those letters, and getting it all to your mailbox will cost them and, in the end, taxpayers.

It's the relief taxpayers have been waiting for and it will soon be headed for your mailbox.

"I'll be glad to get a rebate," one taxpayer told WSBT News. "Our taxes went up so I'll be glad to get some of it back."

"This is gonna be a lot of work," said Marshall County Auditor Jan Quivley.

$1,000,300 in rebate money has to be divided among 12,250 properties in Marshall County.

The checks have to be ordered, written, filled out, stuffed, stacked, and sent.

"We have a claims person and on average, she does about 700 checks a month," Quivley said. "You can imagine then if she had to do 12,250.”

Quivley did his own calculating to figure how much it would cost the county to give the county property tax relief.

"There's costs for envelopes, there's cost for cartridges, printer cartridges,” he said.

Estimated costs:
$360 = overtime
$295 = clerical costs
$1,470 = office supplies
$2,300 = professional computer services
$5,000 = postage and mailing
$9,425 = total estimated cost

"All together about $9,600,” Quivley explained. “That would have to come initially in my budget which is part of the general fund [paid for] by tax dollars.”

St. Joseph County is also preparing for another challenge in a year officials say has been challenging enough. The auditor there is preparing to order 60,000 checks.

Unlike Marshall County, neither Elkhart nor St. Joseph counties have estimated how much it will cost them to process these rebate checks, but it will certainly be more than Marshall County.

Marshall County is looking into hiring an outside company to do all the processing. The auditor told WSBT News that would save them about $2,000.