Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Washington County tax office reports Keystone delay; commissioners approve tax analyst reclassification
Summary
Tax Administrator Sherri Wilkins told commissioners the Tax Office remains busy with deeds, NCVTS, debt setoff and delinquent tax advertising and said the Keystone software implementation has been delayed; the board approved reclassifying a vacant Deputy Administrator position to Tax Analyst to help manage workloads.
Sherri Wilkins, Washington County tax administrator, told the Board of Commissioners on May 5 that the Tax Office remains busy preparing year-end work, processing deed and estate transfers, managing NCVTS (Tag & Tax) queues, handling bankruptcies and coordinating with Zacchaeus Legal Services for foreclosure-related certifications. She said annual advertising for 2024 delinquent real-estate taxes is scheduled for May 28 and the deadline for exemption applications is June 1.
Wilkins told commissioners that the county—ontract with Keystone for a tax system upgrade began with a $195,000 contract and experienced a roughly $30,000 increase; she said the county has spent approximately $200,000 to date. Wilkins said Keystone did not initially have all files it needed from the Tax Office but that the vendor now has the materials and the county is aiming for a September 1, 2025 implementation. She said she expected a project timeline from Keystone "later this week." County Manager/County Attorney Curtis S. Potter said he is arranging a project meeting with Keystone and that progress can be revisited at the May 19 meeting if needed. Potter also said IT Director Darlene Fikes has been assigned to assist the Tax Office on the project.
The meeting included a public comment from resident Louis Wilkins, who asked the Board to waive penalties on three unpaid properties; Wilkins said he did not receive a bill. Wilkins asked whether the penalty could be waived. Tax Administrator Sherri Wilkins said, "by statute, she is not allowed to waive the penalty." Commissioner Tracey A. Johnson asked whether the bill was late in arriving; the resident replied he had received a lien letter a couple of weeks earlier and that he would provide additional information to staff.
To address workload at the Tax Office, the Board approved reclassifying a vacant Deputy Administrator position to a Tax Analyst position. Commissioner Ann C. Keyes moved to approve the reclassification; Commissioner Julius Walker Jr. seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Commissioners discussed that an analyst would handle monthly tasks shaded in the package and allow the tax administrator to delegate recurring duties.
The tax administrator also described coordination with the landfill, mapping updates to GIS, manual addition of the Town of Roper solid-waste fees before bills are printed, and ongoing work on personal property abstracts and business license reminders. Wilkins said Tax Office staff are training a new tax clerk who began work April 24.
The Board did not take other immediate action on penalties raised in public comment; the tax administrator stated statutory limits constrained her authority to waive the penalties.
