Clay County delays senior tax-freeze bills after vendor errors; 17,114 applications awaiting billing

Deanna Jacobs, Clay Countys administrative services director, told the commission that 17,114 senior property-tax-relief applications are approved but awaiting correct tax bills after vendor testing exposed calculation and distribution errors. "We currently have 17,114 applications that are approved and are awaiting their tax bills," Jacobs said, and described repeated test uploads and communication with the countys vendor since 2023.

Jacobs said the vendor can sometimes calculate the front-end amount of a bill but that the back-end distribution to taxing jurisdictions is incorrect in tests: "They can calculate the front end of the bill, but when we try and do a fake payment... when it distributes it to the taxing jurisdictions, it doesn't do it properly." She gave examples of small front-end differences (30¢) and substantially larger distribution inaccuracies (up to $17 per bill in some test cases) that would be unacceptable if multiplied across thousands of parcels.

Staff emphasized the reconciliation problem created by any manual workaround. Jacobs said county staff have hand-calculated all 17,114 bills as a contingency, but that manually calculated bills cannot be entered into the automated system in a way that would allow electronic payment and automatic distribution. "If the tax bill isn't in the automated system, you can't make an electronic payment," Jacobs said, explaining a manual-payments route would require separate accounts and manual distribution and would complicate next-year reconciliations.

Commissioners pressed for taxpayer protections and clearer communications. The county administrator said mailed bills will allow a 30-day payment window and the county will provide a grace period so taxpayers will not face penalties or interest for delayed bills. "As far as the tax bills, once we get those out, you have 30 days. And what we'll do is give a grace period to that," the administrator said.

The county is pursuing two tracks: continue testing and pushing the current vendor to resolve back-end distribution problems while simultaneously preparing a procurement process to evaluate alternative software vendors. Commissioners discussed the budget trade-offs of a large software buy; staff cited vendor estimates in previous planning of roughly $4.5 million and a reported $6 million upgrade in Jackson County.

Auditor Victor Hurlburt and staff warned about timing and funds in suspense: the county typically distributes collections to taxing jurisdictions around the 15th of each month, and Hurlburt said roughly $60 million of base tax dollars could be held in suspense until the problem is resolved. He asked for 100% assurance on distribution correctness before releasing funds.

Public commenters told the commission they are frustrated and worried about the timing and clarity of bills. Commissioners thanked staff for the transparency and directed weekly updates.

Next steps: staff will continue testing files the vendor uploaded the night of the meeting, explore manual mailing and reconciliation options with the auditor, and begin an RFP process for alternative software. Commissioners said they will prioritize getting accurate bills to taxpayers and ensuring no taxpayer faces penalties because of the county's delay.