Treasurer reports high collection rates, flags $2.5 million contested personal-property account

Treasurer Missy White presented the 2024 annual report to the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6, summarizing collection performance, abated parcels and delinquency work.

White reported two parcels were removed from the tax roll after the assessor determined they were not taxable or no longer existed, and that the long-term real estate collection rate (2004–2023) stands at 99.88%. For personal property, she reported an overall five-year collection rate of 96.26% for 2019–2023 but noted that a single delinquent account with roughly $2.5 million in assessed liability represents about 37% of total personal-property delinquency. That business filed an official review in May 2024 and signaled intent to appeal to the Virginia Department of Taxation, which halts county collection activity until the administrative process concludes.

White said that excluding that account, the personal-property collection rate would be about 97.64%. She also summarized other required reports: small-dollar bills under $1 (per county practice) were abated (about 150 bills totaling $119.25), and the county recovered roughly $132,000 in FY24 through attorney/collection-agency referrals for older balances.

Board members asked for more detail on monthly real-estate payment participation and on whether the threshold for not mailing bills had changed (it was previously $5 and is now $1 after a 2022 mailing error prompted review). White offered to provide more granular figures on monthly payment participation.

Next steps: Treasurer's office will supply requested monthly-participation data and continue legal/collection follow-up on contested accounts.