FILERS WAIT TO PAY TAXES FLOOD OF MAIL HITS POST OFFICE.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A steady flow of last-minute tax filers streamed into the main branch of Santa Clarita's post office Monday afternoon, hoping to rush their tax forms and checks into the mail before the midnight deadline.

``I owed so much, I didn't feel like giving the money right away,'' said Kevin McCarthy, who works for Princess Cruises.

The main branch prepared for the expected onslaught of procrastinators with a full crew working behind the counter from 8 a.m. to midnight to ensure the line would move smoothly throughout the day.

The post office was busy all day, especially upon opening and at lunchtime. The process moved smoothly, except for one minor glitch: The computers crashed first thing in the morning.

``We had a huge line, and the supervisor had to go out and tell people to remain calm and that the problem would be fixed momentarily,'' said Vivian Uthe, the postmaster's secretary.

Technicians rebooted the computers and the filing line was moving again within minutes. By midday, the main branch had processed double the usual amount of mail normally handled on a Monday, Uthe said. She expected the pace to pick up again after 8 p.m. Monday night.

There are two types of people who send their taxes on the last day - procrastinators and those who owe money to the Internal Revenue Service, Uthe said. But for those people, the post office provided added peace- of-mind to those concerned that their letters wouldn't have the April 16 date. A staff worker guarded the door with a red, round dating stamp for items ready to be sent.

``If they just dropped their letters in the slot, they would have been processed today anyway,'' Uthe said. ``This is just an added service because people feel secure actually seeing the red date stamped on their letters.''

Don Spiller, a maintenance mechanic from Valencia, was one of the self- professed procrastinators sending out his taxes.

``I don't want to let go,'' he said, laughing. ``I don't want to give my money away.''

David Landry from Agua Dulce dropped off his envelopes in the afternoon, saying he's always late because he likes to pay at the last minute.

``I've done the midnight drop before, so I'm actually early this year,'' he said.

Even the postmaster's secretary's son was a last-minute filer.

``I had to bring his taxes in today and drop them off for him,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Adrienne Matz of Sherman Oaks looks for the correct tax forms Monday morning at the Valencia Post Office, where others were mailing tax returns.

Shaun Dyer/Staff Photographer