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This first year in office has been both rewarding and exciting. I would like to thank each one of you for your patience, suggestions, and encouragement during my first tax season as your collector. We have put new procedures in place that include monthly bank reconciliations and the segregation of staff duties which provides the proper checks and balances to protect the collected tax money.
My office staff exhibits an extremely high work ethic, and I’m so proud of their cooperative approach to challenges we faced throughout the year. During the tax season there were many days when lunch became supper, and we left the courthouse after 7:00 p.m. We did, however, process tax payments, deposits and receipts on a daily basis. Many taxpayers commented on how quickly they received their paid receipt and expressed their satisfaction with the service provided by the collector’s office. Being able to process payments in such a timely manner is of great benefit to the taxing entities, and ultimately the taxpayers, because this allows interest to accrue on those deposits. The collector’s office collected 83% of the taxes due by the end of December and an additional 5% was collected during January, which leaves 12% more to be collected.
Some changes were implemented this year, and I am excited to report they were
successful. The changes included adding another cashier’s window, giving us three people at the front counter and keeping the waiting time to a minimum during the busy tax season. Opening the office to accept payments the last Saturday of December was another innovative change for Pulaski County and resulted in the collection of $405,286.59 for the day. Eliminating the tax cards saved time previously spent hand writing cards both at the window and with mailed receipts. Additional achievements for this office include the following: resolving most escrow account issues for homeowners by the end of January; providing an option of paying by debit card, credit card, or e-check via the Internet or telephone; and creating a user-friendly website, www.pulaskicollector.com, that provides timely information about the office and upcoming events.
Delinquent statements have been mailed. If you receive a delinquent statement and have an escrow account with your mortgage company, call the customer service number listed on your statement and let them know your real estate tax was not paid. They will also need to know the account number listed on your statement. Another FAQ from last year’s delinquency mailing was who pays the taxes if the property is sold during the year. Arrangements should have been made with the previous owner as to who would be responsible for paying the real estate taxes. Usually the purchaser is the person who pays the taxes. Feel free to call our office for assistance with either of these issues.
I noted in prior articles that a merchant’s license software program was established and integrated into the existing software of the collector’s office. Because it is now an automatic revenue entry, this minimizes mistakes that could occur when using the previous system. The Pulaski County Merchant’s License cost is $25.00 per year, running from January 1 – December 31; this license is in addition to any other licenses that may be required by cities in this county. If you are a business owner and have not obtained a current county merchant’s license, please contact our office at 573-774-4711. We can set up an account, making you compliant with state statutes.
In July, while preparing for the 2007 Land Tax Sale, I asked who was keeping track of the unclaimed delinquent tax sale surplus money that would be distributed to the school systems after three years. This procedure, although required by Missouri State Statutes, was not followed in the past and therefore, was not an established distribution. In order to establish this distribution, the collector’s office set up a system to track the previous years’ surplus monies. Now that this procedure is in place, unclaimed surplus monies from three years back will be distributed annually (when available) to the county’s schools as provided by the Revised Missouri State Statutes.
We have established procedures to deal with the problem of outstanding refund checks by accepting checks for the exact amount due only and therefore eliminating refund checks for small amounts to individual taxpayers. We have also dealt quickly with insufficient funds checks and have only one outstanding at this time.
Our next timeline is the mailing of delinquent property tax notices as required by Missouri State Statutes. The statement will include taxes and a penalty schedule; the tax amount continues to accrue penalties through September making it advantageous to pay as soon as possible. Not receiving a statement is not recognized by the State of Missouri as reason for not paying the penalty amount on delinquent taxes.
In closing, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. George Berry, the previous Pulaski County Collector. We appreciate his many year’s of service to the county. He was a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and many friends.
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