Orange County NC Website
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 6, 2002 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 5- <br /> SUBJECT: North Carolina Debt Setoff Program <br /> DEPARTMENT: Commissioners/Revenue/ PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> County Manager <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 10/30/02 Revenue Director Memo Moses Carey, 933-8494 <br /> Resolution Approving Debt Setoff Jo Roberson, 245-2727 <br /> Program Participation Rod Visser, 245-2308 <br /> Memorandum of Understanding and TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Agreement with Five Star Computing Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> PowerPoint Explanation of Program Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br /> (under separate cover) Durham 688-7331 <br /> List of Current Participants Mebane 336-227-2031 <br /> (under separate cover) <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a resolution authorizing staff to include Orange County in the North <br /> Carolina Local Government Debt Setoff Program. <br /> BACKGROUND: During the 1997 legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly <br /> approved legislation that authorized local governments to participate in the State's income tax <br /> refund debt setoff program. Local governments can now work to satisfy debts owed to them by <br /> collaborating with the Department of Revenue to receive portions of State income tax refunds <br /> that may be due to taxpayers who owe money to local governments. <br /> If the Board approves the County's participation in this program, staff proposes to focus initially <br /> on the recovery of overdue property taxes for registered motor vehicles. Since the local <br /> government chooses which debts they desire the vendor to pursue on their behalf, staff would <br /> pursue this effort on a pilot basis, and if successful, would consider expanding it to collect other <br /> severely delinquent accounts. Orange County is currently among the top three counties in the <br /> State in terms of current tax collection percentage at 98.7 percent for FY 2001-02. The debt <br /> setoff program, used judiciously and in a targeted way, could provide one more tool to sustain <br /> or enhance the excellent collection rate that underwrites the County's ability to provide its <br /> program of services to citizens. <br /> The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and North Carolina League of <br /> Municipalities worked together and last year developed an arrangement with Five Star <br /> Computing, Inc. of South Carolina to assist local governments in receiving debts owed them by <br /> diverting income tax refunds that would otherwise be sent to debtors. Revenue Director Jo <br /> Roberson would be Orange County's designated point of contact for this program and would be <br /> the County official empowered to consider appeals from debtors under the due process aspects <br /> of the debt setoff program. <br />