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County to start SMS campaign to collect delinquent property taxes, Linebarger says
Summary
Linebarger Attorneys at Law told the San Patricio County Commissioners Court it will launch an SMS (text‑message) campaign this summer to supplement existing delinquent‑tax mailings; the tax assessor‑collector will host a web notice to verify legitimate texts.
Steven Salcedo, a partner at Linebarger Attorneys at Law, told the San Patricio County Commissioners Court that his firm will begin a text‑messaging campaign to increase delinquent‑tax collections for the county.
Salcedo said the SMS campaign will supplement the county’s existing eight annual delinquent mailings and will send texts for delinquencies as small as $0.01. "We're now going to implement the texting campaign that's about to kick off," he said, adding the firm has used the tool in other counties and that it tends to reach younger taxpayers who are more likely to respond to cell‑phone contact.
Marcy (tax assessor‑collector staff), who introduced the presentation, and Salcedo said the texts will include high‑quality SMS content and graphics and will direct recipients to the tax office. The county tax assessor‑collector's web page will host a public notice explaining the texts and confirming legitimacy so recipients know the message is authentic.
The court offered no opposition during the presentation and commissioners commented positively about the outreach approach. The office expects the campaign to be rolled out following internal setup and county approvals; Salcedo said the goal is to have existing office clients transitioned out of the Corpus Christi firm’s office by July.
