Arlington treasurer seeks $500,000 plus two collectors to expand automated payments and collections

Treasurer Carla de la Pava told the Arlington County Board that the treasurer's office is asking in the FY 2026 proposed budget for two additional collector positions and one-time funding to implement new software that would expand online payments and automate some collections.

The request includes paying a one-time programming cost to implement a cashiering module inside the county's ACE tax system, plus funding for the treasurer's adoption of an Enterprise Payment System (EPS) and ACE Discovery Manager. "The mission of the treasurer is as mandated by the constitution and the code of Virginia is to build, receive, collect, safeguard, and disperse county funds," de la Pava said during the work session.

Nut graf: The treasurer argues the investment will more than pay for itself. The office projects roughly $2 million in additional annual collections once the systems and staffing are in place, and estimates that a fully trained collector brings in about $1.7 million annually.

Board presentation highlights: Kim Rucker, the treasurer's payments lead, described EPS as a scalable payment platform the county is rolling out to accept more payment types (Venmo, Apple Pay, PayPal) and to integrate with departmental billing systems such as Permit Arlington and Prism Plus. The treasurer's slides show more than 450 permit payments processed in the first days after a recent Permit Arlington go-live and early uptake of new payment methods.

De la Pava said the office also wants one-time funding to implement ACE Discovery Manager, a data-driven module to prioritize accounts and automate decisioning. "In total, we are expecting to add an additional $2,000,000 in collections," she said, summarizing the joint technology and staffing plan.

The treasurer also described pilots for self-service payment plans and a "personal property partial payment" program for vehicle taxes that lets customers pay throughout the year. The partial-payment pilot was offered to 500 accounts with bills between $1,200 and $1,700; the office reported a 4% sign-up rate in the first month and said even a modest adoption rate could prevent many delinquencies.

Board members pressed on cybersecurity, reliability and operating costs for current cashiering systems. De la Pava described recent vendor bugs that misposted payment dates and erased penalties, and said a native ACE cashiering module would post payments in real time and avoid recurring vendor fees.

Ending: The board acknowledged the treasurer's proposals and asked follow-up questions on implementation timelines, data on projected returns and coordination with other departments. Several members signaled interest in the self-service payment plans and the ACE discovery tool as revenue and equity measures.