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Council weighs options after county shifts municipal tax collection to percentage basis
Summary
Council discussion focused on Columbus County's move to a percentage-based municipal tax collection (now presented as 3%), staff analysis of two options — keep county collection or resume city collection — and a five-year cost comparison showing significant trade-offs.
City staff briefed the Whiteville City Council on Columbus County's recent change from a flat-fee contract to a percentage-based collection method and presented two options for the city: continue with county collection or resume in-house tax collection.
Staff (S3,S5) said the county initially moved to a percentage basis and used the county's figures to show an estimated $75,001.58 for Whiteville's portion of the county's 3% column and a broader figure of about $85,000 annually when stormwater and downtown tax adjustments are included. "They went back and changed it and now it's at 3 percent, which equates to roughly, dollars 85,000 annually to the city," a staff speaker said. The change prompted staff to prepare a cost analysis comparing options.
Finance staff walked the council through two scenarios. Under option 1 (county collection at 3%), staff estimated the city's total cost to collect property taxes would be roughly $470,000 over five years. Under option 2 (local collection), staff estimated higher upfront costs for software and implementation but lower ongoing costs; staff gave a year-one software and implementation estimate of about $26,000, professional fees and initial salary costs of roughly $20,000, and a conservative year-one total near $51,000.
Staff emphasized additional non-financial factors: local control of payment timing and data, the ability to accelerate cash flow (staff said in-house collection can make funds available "the day you pay it" instead of monthly county disbursements), and potential legal and staffing requirements including creating a tax-collector position and obtaining legal review. Councilmembers asked for legal analysis, clarification on who bears collection costs for problematic accounts, and whether stormwater or other fees could be redesigned if the city resumes collection.
No formal council vote on the two options appears in the excerpt; staff said implementation could be ready by fiscal year-end 2026 if council directs further work.
