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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: August 26, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-b <br /> SUBJECT: Tax Collector's Annual Settlement for Fiscal Year 2024-25 <br /> DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Resolution Nancy T. Freeman, Director, <br /> 2025 Order to Collect 919-245-2735 <br /> Reports (7) <br /> Copy of Report of Delinquent Property <br /> Taxes (Provided to Clerk by Email) <br /> PURPOSE: To receive the tax collector's annual settlement on current and delinquent taxes for <br /> Fiscal Year 2024-2025, approve by resolution the accounting thereof, and upon acceptance of <br /> the reports, issue the Order to Collect for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. <br /> BACKGROUND: The annual settlement provides in detail the collection for the County, all fire <br /> and special districts, and the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Mebane, and Durham <br /> during Fiscal Year 2024-2025. <br /> For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, Orange County's overall current year tax collection <br /> percentage was 99.35%, which is lower than previous years. Staff attributes this to staffing <br /> changes that affected the Collections division. One experienced permanent staff member moved <br /> to another County department, another temporarily was not availeble due to extended leave, and <br /> another very capable temporary staff member was no longer worked for the County. Staff expects <br /> to see this percentage rate increase for tuture years as one staff member returns to work and new <br /> staff are fully trained. In comparison, the average overall collection rate for the prior three years <br /> is 99.5%. <br /> The current overall collection percentage can be broken down further into three property <br /> classifications: real property, personal property, and motor vehicles. Orange County's fiscal year <br /> 2024-2025 current year tax collection percentage for real property was 99.34%, and personal <br /> property was 97.5%, which includes motor vehicle gap bills that are billed monthly by the County <br /> rather than by the State. The collection rate for registered motor vehicle taxes collected by the <br /> State (Vehicle Tax System (VTS) Registered Motor Vehicles) was 99.89%. <br /> The tax collector is required by North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 105-373 to give an annual <br /> settlement to the governing body. It is the intent of the Machinery Act to create a direct relationship <br /> of responsibility and accountability between the tax collector and governing body. <br /> Furthermore, NCGS 105-373 requires the tax collector to furnish a sworn report to the governing <br /> body showing a list of property owners whose taxes remain unpaid for the preceding fiscal year. <br />