Agenda - 09-15-2009 - 6b - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 To foster a smooth transition when consolidating the two departments, current Revenue Director Jo Roberson can be appointed as the Tax Administrator. Ms. Roberson has worked for Orange County for over nine years and has an impeccable tax collection rate. During Ms. Roberson's tenure she has worked closely with the Tax Assessor's Office to develop a cohesive relationship between the functions. To continue the current PIMS implementation process, staff has extended the retirement date for two current Tax Assessor employees. One employee has been extended until November 1, 2009 and the other staff member has been extended through December 31, 2009. There are at least one and potentially two additional employees retiring from the Assessor's office; however their retirement dates are not being extended. Staff will further work with three retired employees from the Tax Assessor's Office. These retirees will work through contract services provided in the PIMS project. The contract will be negotiated by the County Manager, with the total amount to be paid to each person not to exceed fifty percent of the respective annual salary. The contracts will be structured to begin thirty days after the employees' retirement dates and continue through December 31, 2010. These contracts are critical to the successful implementation of the PIMS project. To enhance current operations, the departments will consider the outsourcing of part of the responsibilities of the County's EMS initial billing and insurance filing process. Staff is reviewing processes for outsourcing with EMS Management and Consultants. Functions to be outsourced include medical insurance filing and processing appeals for denials of insurance coverage on behalf of clients served. Outsourcing of these duties will allow existing staff to work on stronger collections of those accounts not resolved voluntarily. Additional information concerning this proposal will be coming to the Board in October. The departments will also investigate the benefits of outsourcing the business personal property listing functions. Staff has been tracking the pilot program between Tax Management Associates and Durham County over the last twelve months. This group has staff dedicated to actively seeking out and reviewing business personal property and locating under-listed or non- listed business. Outsourcing these functions will allow the department to realign resources to better serve the consolidation, provide a smoother transition to the new tax software (PIMS), and improve the current listing process. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The consolidation of the two departments will require the reclassification of one position to the Tax Administrator. Other reclassification action will likely occur, but not on an immediate basis. This cost can be covered by salary savings from retirees in the Tax Assessor's Office. The contract cost of three retired employees will not exceed a total of $111,631. This cost will be funded through the PIMS project. There should be no direct impact to the savings through employee salary freeze. The potential cost for outsourcing with EMS Management and Consultants would be between $116,000 and $122,000. It is believed that with the outsourcing of this portion of current operations, staff would then have the potential to increase overall collections. It is believed that the cost can be procured through added delinquent collections.