County treasurer reports lower August distributions, outlines tax-collection steps

County Treasurer reported to the Administration Legal Affairs Committee on Sept. 10 that August tax distributions and investment receipts were lower than the prior month and described administrative steps to reduce delinquent tax collections. "End of next week, I'm gonna be sending out friendly reminders, which literally are cards that say friendly reminders," the County Treasurer said.

The treasurer said August results were down about $1,004,463 (roughly 3.4 percent), driven in part by a one-month accounts payable spike and a much smaller tax distribution in August ($695,000) compared with the prior month's $5.8 million. The office also reported interest received in August of just under $38,000 from eight maturities and said accrued interest of roughly $95,000 is expected on upcoming maturities across funds.

The treasurer described the county's practice of sending postcard reminders to taxpayers to avoid the higher cost of certified delinquent-mailings and said the office purchased 20,000 postcards to reuse in future years. On certificates of error, the treasurer said there were approximately 140 adjustments for tax year 2024 totaling nearly $104,000 countywide; because the county is a taxing district on every bill, the county's share of that total is about 12 percent, or roughly $13,013.05.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the frequency of reminders and the county's share of certificate-of-error impacts. The treasurer said collection rates remain strong (about 81.7 percent countywide as a taxing body), and that adjustments for certificates of error reduce distributions to all taxing districts and therefore affect the county's bottom line.

No formal action was taken on the treasurer's report; it was presented for the committee's information.

The treasurer also noted that anticipated interest-rate cuts already are being priced into investment vehicles and that she is seeking the highest yields available for county funds, while cautioning that last year's interest returns are unlikely to repeat.

Ending: The treasurer circulated the monthly financial and tax-distribution reports to committee members and offered to supply additional details on request.