CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Local property owners have until Saturday to make their tax payments without a penalty.

“It’s all hands on deck here,” Bradley County Trustee Mike Smith said.

“We have plenty of people to answer the phones from callers who want to know how much they owe, and we have a full staff at the counter,” Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith and his staff also have held satellite collection sites across the county on Saturdays this month.

“It’s a convenience more people are beginning to take advantage of,” Mr. Smith said, adding that working families may find it difficult to visit the courthouse on weekdays.

There were some jitters in the office early on when tax payments didn’t come in at historically expected rates, Mr. Smith said. But the pace has picked up in recent weeks.

“We are in great shape,” he said. “We are better off at this point than we were last year.”

Uncertain economic times nationally may have caused some owners who normally pay early to hold on to their money as long as possible, he said.

The next step in the 2009-10 budget process comes March 5 when the county’s budget writing season begins.

“March 5 is when we get all the department heads and bookkeepers together to explain the process and distribute the budget work papers,” County Mayor D. Gary Davis said.

Public budget hearings for each department are scheduled May 12 and May 14.

The county school system’s public budget hearing is May 26 during a County Commission work session.

The commission is scheduled to vote July 6 on a tax rate and budget.