DANVILLE, Ind. -- Hendricks County is asking its residents to voluntarily pay property taxes to keep schools and local government operating.

Treasurer Nancy Marsh said she'd like to see homeowners pay up to 80 percent of the taxes they paid last year even though they aren't obligated to do so, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

Full bills that are required to be paid are going out late again this year because of delays in reassessment.

County officials said that if people don't pay at least something soon, schools and local government won't have enough money to pay bills.

"Everybody's behind for various reasons, so we chose this method to get some money in," said Hendricks County Treasurer Nancy Marsh.

Donna Patraits, of Brownsburg schools, said that without early payments, schools would suffer in two areas that depend the most on property taxes -- the general fund, which pays salaries, and the debt service fund.

"That would be our mortgage payments on our buildings. Those mortgage payments have to be made," Patraits said. "We would have to go out and borrow money, and then it costs us money."

Marsh said she is appealing to homeowners because a large percentage of the tax base is residential.

"There is no due date on it, and we just want to help the units of government operate," Marsh said. "They need the money and we will … distribute to the units by the end of June."

Marsh said early response to the plea has been positive, but she added that many mortgage companies who pay taxes for homeowners out of escrow accounts are refusing to cooperate.