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Wilson County tax office reports higher year-end activity after move; staff explains appeals process and restrooms question raised
Summary
County tax staff told commissioners that year-end collections increased after the tax office moved to a new building; staff explained lockbox processing, informal appeal opportunities in January—March, and addressed a public concern about restroom access at the new facility.
Wilson County tax staff told commissioners on Jan. 6 that the county—s new tax office experienced higher year-end activity and that county processes for appeals and mass payment processing have changed in the transition to the new building.
"What we saw this year was two folds," said Crawford (tax office official), describing heavier customer traffic associated with the new building and with timing around the year-end pay period. "We have had three straight days of, very busyness ... the drive thru was very steady today and so we're starting to see things pick up and the location I believe is very much healthy."
Crawford said the county uses a third-party lockbox operation in Charlotte for mass payment processing and that a recent software conversion shifted some processing back to local staff for a short time, producing a larger-than-usual load for in-office staff. "Part of the things that we've had to process over the last few days were, since we changed our software, some of that process ... was sent back to us. And so we probably processed, 100 of thousands more payments than we normally do," he said.
On appeals and informal review: Crawford explained that while the statutory Board of Equalization and Review opens in April, most counties run an informal review period in January through March to allow property owners the chance to meet with tax staff before the formal BOE hearings. "We'll have a memo that will be going out in about 3 weeks for [real property owners] to give them, 2 months for informal process to be able to review with us in our office and then the board will open up in April," Crawford said.
A member of the public and a commissioner raised concern about restroom access at the new facility. Crawford said restrooms exist on the second floor but are kept behind locked doors for safety and security; staff can escort members of the public upstairs when necessary. "We do have restrooms on the second floor. They're just behind locked doors for safety and security. We can ... escort the public up there," he said.
The board received the November 2024 tax collection report and approved refunds in excess of $100 for December 2024 by voice vote. The tax office staff was publicly thanked by commissioners for the transition work associated with the new facility and for customer service during busy days.
Ending: County staff said they will distribute the real-property memo in the coming weeks, continue to process payments through the lockbox and local office as needed, and provide guidance to taxpayers about informal appeal opportunities before the Board of Equalization and Review in April.
