Aransas County moves to negotiate contract for new property tax collection software

Aransas County commissioners authorized staff to negotiate a contract with Appraisal & Collection Technology (ACT) for a new property tax collection system, aiming to streamline collections and reduce errors.

County staff said the current system is not a collections-focused product and that a new system would integrate better with the county's bookkeeping (QuickBooks), allow a county-hosted customer portal for statements and receipts, and reduce the volume of related public calls. "We need something that works with our collections," the presenter said, adding the conversion typically takes "three to four months."

During the discussion staff quoted several cost figures on the record: a recurring annual amount cited as "$40,000 a year," a one-time conversion fee discussed around $15,000, and an initial figure of about $25,000 mentioned in the exchange. The presenter said the county would not pay out of the 2026 budget for initial setup and expected recurring charges to begin in 2027. "We don't pay anything this year," the presenter said, while noting the county could amortize conversion costs over multiple years.

Commissioners asked about vendor support, vendor familiarity with county workflows and whether the vendor would host backups; a staff representative said backups would be handled through the vendor's server. The court moved and seconded authorization for the tax assessor-collector and the county's contracts and procurement specialist to negotiate the contract.

Next steps noted in the meeting record include finalizing vendor terms, confirming exact pricing in a formal proposal and negotiating contract language before returning to the court for formal approval.

The motion to authorize contract negotiation carried; no final contract award was recorded in the meeting.