Whiteville staff outlines costs and timeline to resume in-house property tax collection after Columbus County moves to percentage fee

City Manager Kevin (first name only in the transcript) and finance staff presented a comparative analysis on whether Whiteville should continue having Columbus County collect municipal property taxes under the county's newly adopted percentage fee or resume in-house collection.

Kevin summarized the county's January decision to switch from a flat-fee arrangement to a percentage-based collection and said the county set the new rate at 3 percent; staff reported the county figures estimate the change would cost Whiteville about $75,001.58 annually for collection services and about $85,000 when combined with stormwater and downtown tax collections. "They voted on 3%." the city manager said, referring to the county vote.

Finance staff presented two options. Option 1 assumes the county's 3% fee remains in effect; staff estimated the city would pay roughly $470,000 for collection services over five years under that scenario, noting the county model included no stated annual ceiling and a revaluation in year three that would increase collections. Option 2 would be an in-house model: staff estimated year-one costs of roughly $51,000 (about $26,000 for software purchase and implementation, roughly $20,000 in professional fees and salary costs, and up to $5,000 for print and mailing) and a five-year total of about $155,000. Staff concluded that, by the five-year comparison, in-house collection would be materially cheaper than staying with the county's percentage fee.

Staff also reported nonrecurring proceeds (hurricane-related funds) that could offset start-up costs and noted faster access to tax receipts could improve investment earnings: "The quicker we can get our hands on that... that 4 weeks quicker, that 6 weeks quicker," a staff member said, describing how earlier receipt of funds could benefit the general fund.

Council members and staff discussed operational details: training and legal compliance for collections, creation of a tax collector position, use of an outside former tax-collector to assist during the first year, online payment capabilities, handling delinquent accounts and legal collection options (including potential bank account garnishment once legal processes are followed). Staff said they had spoken with their software vendor (Edmunds) and that the needed module exists.

Staff noted a practical deadline: the county's 120-day termination notice would place the effective termination in July; staff said the city must decide whether to keep the county arrangement into fiscal 2026 or prepare a rapid, in-house implementation. No final council vote on taking collection in-house is recorded in the transcript; staff asked for direction and said they would return with implementation details, including a proposed tax-collector appointment if the council elects to resume local collection.

The transcript includes requests to develop a public awareness campaign and to plan for heavy collection activity at fiscal year-end if the council chooses to resume in-house collection.

The council did not record a formal final decision in the provided transcript.