MC officials eye tax changes

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter
Published: July 17, 2008

Taxes should be fair, simple and easy to collect, according to a finance committee established by Madison County officials.

In order for the county to boost revenue and offset increasing costs, the group suggests officials eliminate some hard-to-figure out taxes and jointly purchase goods and services among separate county departments.

Some of the committee’s other suggestions – including increasing zoning and building fees and eliminating the use of the county’s annual vehicle decals – the board of supervisors has already recently approved.

The board has also discussed collecting taxes semi-annually in June and December, another committee recommendation. Collecting taxes twice a year would improve cash flow to the county as well as generate extra money in interest and reduce the expense of borrowing funds, according to the committee’s report.

The report describes the county’s collection of personal property taxes as an “administrative nightmare.”

“It is cumbersome, inefficient and causes considerable agitation with taxpayers,” the report states.

In addition to phasing out taxes on farm equipment – something the county has been in the process of doing for the past few years – the committee recommends axing taxes on boats, airplanes and trailers since they generate little income compared to the amount of record keeping required to calculate how much each property owner owes.

If the county were to stop taxing the above-suggested items, officials would need to increase the personal property tax rate on the remaining items by 16 cents per $100 of assessed value in order to collect the same amount of money from taxpayers overall. 

In order to retain qualified teachers and remain competitive with surrounding counties that traditionally offer teacher salaries that are higher than those offered in Madison County, the committee suggests creating a bonus program, which would financially reward “the top 10 percent of teachers.”

At the end of each school year, teachers deserving recognition would be awarded bonuses from a pool of money set aside within the school system’s budget, the report states.

The county may also be able to cut back spending by jointly purchasing goods and services, such as fuel, vehicle maintenance and computer software, across multiple county departments.

Supervisors Vice Chairman James Arrington said he agreed with all of the committee’s recommendations and encouraged the board to formally acknowledge its support of all of the suggestions and to begin working to put them into practice immediately.

“If we don’t get started, don’t get a plan in place, we’ll be sitting here next year [discussing the same thing],” Arrington told his fellow board members.
Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean and Supervisor Bob Miller said that officials still need to figure out more details before proceeding with some of the suggestions, including a finance committee-recommended “revenue recovery” program that would bill those who are transported by county rescue squad ambulances.