Swain County board accepts tax collector’s report; instant-title service planned for 2026

On Nov. 18, 2025, the Swain County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the tax collector’s report, which summarized year-to-date collections, recent write-offs and foreclosures, and a planned county rollout of an instant-title service through the license plate agency.

At the start of the county’s regular meeting, the tax collector (identified in the transcript as S3) reported revenue figures for the year. "The ad valorem and fees year to date is $3,000,783," she said; another line in the record listed a different total, $3,783,826.55. She also reported that the county’s percentage of the budget collected as of October was "49.34%" and gave totals for waste fees and vehicle tax receipts.

The board formalized acceptance after an unnamed member moved to approve the report "as it's been given" and the chair seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

In a broader fiscal recap, the tax collector said the county’s license plate agency has been approved to issue instant titles, a service the office expects to begin in early 2026. "It is gonna be a little bit more of an income producer for the county... it's a good service for people who like to buy and and sale and need their titles right then," she said.

The report noted several historic tax write-offs the office recorded in recent years: $6,008.67 in 2022 (spread over 49 accounts), $1,497.67 in 2023 (11 accounts), and $140.40 in 2024 (2 accounts). The tax collector said there were no write-offs in 2025 and credited improved collection and payment-plan arrangements for the change.

She also said the office foreclosed on six properties this year and has two more scheduled for auction, describing most tax-sale parcels as "abandoned" lots rather than occupied residences. The tax collector cautioned that she has no authority to convey land herself, noting that property transfers must follow North Carolina deed procedures and the county uses the Machinery Act in tax transactions: "I don't have the authority to give people land," she said.

An audit the office completed found five parcels listed with unknown owners; the tax collector attributed most of those to mapping errors and said the county’s new mapper, Austin Bradley, is researching records to identify rightful owners. She also identified several abandoned Department of Transportation rights-of-way — including a strip behind the Warrior Motel in the Elah community and one on Landscreek — and said restoring such corridors to the tax rolls is a lengthy process.

The board moved on to subsequent agenda items after accepting the tax collector’s report. The meeting record continues beyond the tax office presentation.