TAXING MATTERS
CHERYL E . JOHNSON , PCC Galveston County Tax Assessor Collector
& Voter Registrar
CONSOLIDATED TAX COLLECTION Saves $
As if writing one check for property taxes isn ’ t
bad enough , for most of you , it ’ s two and sometimes three different tax collectors sending a bill . Island life certainly lives up to its relaxed reputation in this case as the County Tax Office collects for all Galveston Island governments . San Leon and Bacliff also only have one check to write .
Under Texas law , individual governmental bodies have the authority to determine who will assess ( calculate ) and collect their property taxes . Four private collection companies collect for 26 of 47 special purpose districts ( drainage , municipal utility , water control improvement , management and navigation ). Four of eight school districts collect their own with local school boards hiring the tax collector . Two of those also collect for a special purpose district ( offsetting the ISD cost ). The Galveston County Tax Office ( GCTO ) collects for 53 % of the taxing entities in the County including two cities that extend into Harris County ( Friendswood and League City ).
The Property Tax Code dictates how much a county tax office may charge ( an amount that “… may not exceed the actual costs incurred …”). Of no surprise to anyone , Texas ’ 254 counties have wildly different ideas on how to determine what that cost is with some charging 1 % of the taxes billed . Ours is based on the question , “ if we only assessed and collected taxes for Galveston County , what would our organization look like ?” The personnel above that is what is needed to serve additional governments . That cost is applied to the total parcels collected for all .
GCTO currently charges $ 0.21 per parcel for Galveston County and $ 0.97 for Harris County properties . The rate , audited annually to insure it properly reflects the actual current costs , has dropped 53 % since 2005 thanks to the addition of new collection partners and office efficiencies that resulted in lower operational expenses . The addition of new collection partners may result in a rate reduction for all as costs are applied to a larger number of properties . Important to note , a one-time fee of $ 1 / parcel is charged for conversion of all receivables and
five year history .
A candidate for US Congress stated once that government should not perform any task that a private business can do for less and I wholeheartedly agree . Counties have a huge advantage in this case because the Texas Constitution requires a tax assessor collector in each county that is funded by the county . This results in substantial savings for other governments as they do not even pay the cost of the postage ( except for out of county partners ).
Convenience for property owners is one benefit of consolidated tax collections . The other is the savings for local governments and thus taxpayers . You deserve bang for the buck when it comes to government - after all , it IS your money !
Compare my cost to assess and collect to what your governments are paying and ask yourself , ” Am I getting bang for my buck ?”
14 MOMENTUM