Agenda - 08-17-1999 - 9b - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. ~ - ~ ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 17, 1999 SUBJECT: Tax Collector's Annual Settlement DEPARTMENT: Revenue ATTACHMENT(S): Resolution Reports (5) Tax Collection Charts (2) Orders for Collection PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/1~ 1Va INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Rolfe TELEPHONE NUMBERS: - -eat. 2727 Hillsborough 73Z-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 2Z7-2031 PURPOSE: To receive the tax collector's annual settlement on current and delinquent taxes and approve the accounting thereof. BACKGROUND: The reports in the annual settlement provide in detail what has been collected for the courrty, all fire and special districts, and the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough during fiscal year 1998-1999. The overall tax collection percentage for the county is 98.51%, shown on the chart ~ page 12. This is the highest tax collection rate since fiscal year 1988-1989. The overall tax collection percentage has three components: real property, personal property, and motor vehicles. The largest and most important component is real property. The collection staffhas concentrated an increasing real propertytax collections, and has consistently collected 99% of the real property levy for the last four consecutive years. This resulted in approximately $250,000 dollars per year in additional revenue for use in current fiscal year operations. Additional revenue of $62,000 was made available for fiscal year 1998-1999 by increasing the real property collection rate from 99.02% to 99.14%. The effort to increase real property tax collections has benefited the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough. The percentage of real property taxes collected for fiscal year 1998-1999 for the Town of Carrboro is 99.32%; for the Town of Chapel Hill, 99.60%; and for the Town of Hillsborough, 97.87%. Compare these figures to those from fiscal year 1994-1995: Town of Carrboro, 98.71%; Town of Chapel Hill, 98.77%, Town of Hillsborough, 97.57% Orange County ranks third in the state in percentage of taxes collected. Our tax collection percentage shown on the chart on page 13 is well above the statewide average and other counties with population of 100,000 or more. The tax collector is required by § 105-373 to give an annual settlement to the governing body. It is the intent of the Machinery Act to create a direct relationship of responsibility and accountability between the tax collector and the governing body. The governing body charges the tax collector and no one else with