Waller County sees millions collected; commissioners approve higher collection fee

Waller County Commissioners on July 9 heard a report on delinquent tax and court fine collections and voted to raise the county's collection commission rate from 15% to 20% for delinquent tax turnovers.

The change, approved unanimously by voice/hand vote, followed a presentation by a representative of the county's delinquent-collections contractor and a monthly report by the tax assessor-collector.

The contractor, identified in the meeting as Atelio Gonzalez of the firm Purdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, told commissioners the firm's work had helped the county recover recently when a planned auction threatened to remove heavy equipment from the county. "We secured approximately 90,426 for the 2025 year taxes both in Waller County and the other county entities," Gonzalez said, describing coordinated action with the tax office and county deputies. He also told the court the firm's "services are at no cost to the county." The presentation showed the county's total outstanding tax base through May at roughly $2,300,000, and that the 2023 delinquent year (the most recent assigned) had been reduced by about two-thirds (66.61%) through May.

Tax Assessor-Collector Carolyn Lehi delivered the monthly collections report, saying May collections totaled about $1,058,000 and June collections about $644,000. Lehi said she had negotiated a small reduction in merchant fees charged to cardholders, cutting the pass-through fee from 2.35% to 2.25% for taxpayers who pay with credit card.

Commissioners asked about collection limits and uncollectible accounts. The collection representative said the tax office has statutory authority to remove real-property taxes from the roll after 20 years of delinquency and personal-property accounts after 10 years, and that a separate statute of limitations affects filing suit; the contractor said the statute of limitations on suit for personal property can be four years.

The court then voted on two agenda items (23 and 24) that, as presented, increased the county's delinquent tax turnover fee from the longstanding 15% to 20% to match an industry standard the vendor described as more common across Texas. Commissioners said the increase would help cover rising operating costs for collection services and might increase incentive for delinquent payers to resolve accounts.

Ending note: Commissioners also approved several related procurement and consent items earlier in the meeting; the collections vendor told the court the office is using additional methods including text messaging and address-research resources to contact delinquent taxpayers.