County Commission | The Magazine April 2020 | Page 21

FROM THE COVER
CROAA: The Key to Protecting
County Budgets
CROAA’s education program, which is part of the County Government Education Institute, is central to the group’s work to enhance the
professionalism and effectiveness of county revenue officers and license inspectors. In a meeting this past fall, the CROAA Board of
Directors voted to adjust the program’s educational requirements in an effort to make obtaining the “Certified County Revenue Officer”
designation more appealing.
T
he County Revenue Officers
Association of Alabama may
have the most interesting beginning
of ACCA’s five affiliate groups.
For one thing, the members
are somewhat of a rarity in county
government nationwide. It is to
be expected that counties will
have an engineer or an emergency
management director, but most states
do not let counties collect their own
sales tax levies, so CROAA member
counterparts are scarce. For states
without that authority, there is no
need for a county revenue officer.
Back in the mid-1990s,
Alabama’s general law lined up
with most of the country, with the
majority of counties relying on the
Alabama Department of Revenue
to collect their sales tax and send
money periodically. However, the
Legislature had previously passed
local laws for a couple of counties,
permitting them to self-collect. Once
collections were under a watchful
local eye, these jurisdictions saw
their revenue increase.
County commissioners
recognized an opportunity, and
in 1996, lawmakers passed ACCA
priority legislation allowing all
counties the option to self-collect or
contract with a private company to
collect on their behalf. The following
year, CROAA was organized under
the umbrella of ACCA.
“Without oversight from
CROAA members, local revenues
would certainly decline,” said Terri
Henderson of Montgomery County.
All counties are encouraged
COUNTY COMMISSION | 21