Agenda - 8-e - Appointment of Five (5) Deputy Tax Collectors

Browse Search

1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 2, 2019 Action Agenda Item No. 8-e SUBJECT: Appointment of Five (5) Deputy Tax Collectors DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Dwane Brinson, Tax Administrator, (919) 245-2726 PURPOSE: To reappoint Valerie Curry, Bernice Gwynn, and Bobbie Underwood as Deputy Tax Collectors for a four-year term, effective July 1, 2019, and to appoint for the first time Rebecca Lee and Tonya Smith as Deputy Tax Collectors for a four-year term, effective July 1, 2019. BACKGROUND: Chapter 105-349(f) of the North Carolina General Statutes allows the Board of County Commissioners to appoint deputy tax collectors "for a term to be determined by the governing board". The statute reads "a deputy tax collector shall have the authority to perform, under the direction of the tax collector, any act that the tax collector may perform unless the governing body appointing the deputy specifically limits the scope of the deputy's authority". Therefore, the deputy tax collectors' work will continue to be performed under the direction of the tax administrator with the precise guidelines that exist. The continued success of the Revenue Division is evident in the outstanding collection rates that have been attained for several years. Orange County's overall tax collection rate was 99.19% for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The last appointment of Deputy Tax Collectors provided for two-year terms, though historically deputy tax collectors appointments have been for four-year terms. The two-year term was chosen to avert future overlap of the Deputy Tax Collectors' appointments and the County's four-year Revaluation schedule. The two-year terms were executed in 2017 with the understanding that four-year terms would be considered during 2019 when the appointment/Revaluation overlap was no longer a consideration. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no Orange County Social Justice Goal impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board re-appoint Valerie Curry, Bernice Gwynn, and Bobbie Underwood as Orange County Deputy Tax Collectors for four-year terms effective July 1, 2019, and further recommends that the Board appoint Rebecca Lee and Tonya Smith as Orange County Deputy Tax Collectors for four-year terms effective July 1, 2019.