It may be easy for some people to view the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office as the Grinch this time of year.

Property tax statements went out late last week. With the first half of tax bills due Dec. 20, some may be less than thrilled. But interim deputy county treasurer Cindy Monshizadeh estimated Tuesday that 400 people already had made payments on their property tax bills.

“That’s pretty good response,” Monshizadeh said. “It’s a good turnout. What’s funny is we actually have some people who come during October wanting to pay their property tax. But we can’t do that.”

The county treasurer’s office will collect about $101 million in property taxes by May, Monshizadeh said. Last week, county officials mailed 44,899 tax bills — 30,407 went to individual property owners, and 14,492 went to mortgage companies.

Monshizadeh said if property owners received a tax bill and are paying through an escrow account, they need to call their mortgage company. The companies are supposed to annually update their account list, she said. But sometimes information slips through the cracks.

“It happens every year,” Monshizadeh said.

The recent mailings have caused an increase in calls to the treasurer’s office. But the county appraiser’s office also has had a steady stream of calls since Monday from people with questions about the value of their homes. It’s typical, said county appraiser Marion Johnson.

“Usually we’re just answering questions about how we arrived at the property value,” he said.

People can pay their property tax by mailing it to the treasurer’s office or by dropping off their payment at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass.

They also can pay online by going online to https://www.accesskansas.org/kspropertytax/index.do.

There is a $1 fee to pay online, but people can make the payment from a checking or savings account, Monshizadeh said.