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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06161998 - D1 Ds THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adapted this Order on June 16, 1998, by the fallowing vote: A'C'ES: Supervisors Uilkema, Gerber, DeSaulnier, Canciamilla and Rogers NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: 1998 TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT IT IS BY TBE BOARD ORDERED that the Treasurer-Tax Collector 1998 departmental performance report is ACCEPTED. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Beard of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED/or, �''.,,�r' Phil Batchelerk of the .Board of Supervisors and County Administrator By June L. McHuen, Deputy Clerk D/ 1998 TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I Department Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Section 11 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Section 111 Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Section 1V Annual Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Section V Challenges & New Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 _. ................................................... _ ................... ............ .................................................. .... .. ........................................................................... ........................................ SECTION 1 DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW DEPARTMENT OF TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR 1. DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW The Department of Treasurer-Tax Collector is mandated by state law to collect property taxes for all cities, school districts, special districts, and county government. In performing this function, the department seeks to serve the taxpaying public through the most efficient means of billing, collection and dissemination of information. State law also mandates the department with the safe keeping of county funds, school funds and special district funds. The department also administers a comprehensive investment program. The department has three (3) major program areas: Treasurer, Tax Collections, and Business License. The department's organizational chart is attached as Exhibit IA. The basic budget and staff for the department are distributed in the following manner: Net Program Expenditures Counly Cost Staff Treasurer $ 6591165 $432,156 7.5 Tax Collections 2,150,694 406,802 22.0 Business License 110,108 0 1.5 Total $2,929,968 $838,968 31.0 Treasurer's Division -- The Treasurer's Division is the county bank and acts as the depository for all monies within Contra Costa County. It processes records and accounts for all county district and agency fund's. The Treasury acts as the money manager and investment entity. It manages the County's cashflow and short term borrowings. Surplus funds are invested according to Government Code Sec. 53601 and the Treasurer's investment policy. The Treasury is also an active participant in all the borrowings of all agencies and districts. 1 Tax Collection Division — The Tax Collection division is mandated by the State Revenue and Taxation Code to collect Secured, Unsecured, and Supplemental takes. The "Secured" roll contains assessed property in which the tax levies are a lien 'against the property. Secured roll taxes are due annually in two (2) installments. The "Unsecured" roil contains assessed property in which the tax levies are not a leen on real property, i.e., boats, airplanes, business property, and possessory interest. Unsecured roll taxes are due annually in one (1) installment. The "'Supplemental" roll contains both secured and unsecured (leasehold improvements) assessed property. Supplemental roll taxes are a one time billing capturing the difference in value between the lien date (January 1) and the event date, on the secured and unsecured roll. Supplemental taxes are due in two (2) installments. Collection enforcement on secured roll taxes is performed by tax sales. Unsecured roll taxes are enforced by A) physical seizure and sale of property B) suit in courts or C) summary judgments. This office also performs the billing and collection of Transient Occupancy Tax. FY 1997.1998 TAX LEVY Parcel/Account Description Tax L. Total Secured $880.9 million 312,O00 Unsecured 33.3 million 60,000 Supplemental 14.7 million 26,506 Transient Occupancy Tax 1.4 million 3 Total $930.3 million 398,5133 Six (6) year history of total tax levy is shown as Exhibit IS. z Business License Division -- Mandated by county ordinance to levy and collect a Business License Tax from person(s) or entities engaged in any business activity in the unincorporated areas of the county. Enforcement is performed by suit in courts. Total Business License revenue collected for fiscal year 1997-98 was $916,000 representing 7,228 business accounts. Total Business License revenue collected since its implementation in 1991 is over $5.1 million. Annual increase is shown as BXHIB/T 1C. 3 r gm y e r EXHIBIT lA ......... ......... ......... ......... ............_..__...._......__..... .............. ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ................................. PRO RTY TAX LEVY 71 &t,pE3(7t3o0 # i ' e � (OWS) FY 9192 $752,783 92-93 $796,862 93-94 $830,674 94-95 $860,356 95-96 $891,730 9697 $916,800 97-98 $930,300 t :IS I I V 02M 93.04 94.z woo ft$CAL YEAR EXHIBIT 113 ►►1 t t t .11 •ir fi fl1 '. s 44. rf ►s r1s all E .r 4J { vS i 3 h u 'Y SECTION 11 RESOURCES _ _ _. 11. RESOURCES The department accomplishes its mandated activities by adherence to state laws. We are proud to have a workforce representative of the labor force in our county. According to the latest workforce statistics, our department employed 36.6% minority representation to the county's labor force of 27.6%. This department is committed to affirmative action. This department is an advocate for personal development. We give in-house training on electronic worksheets and encourage staff to attend P.C. classes. Staff participation in professional organizations is encouraged. We presently have staff membership in the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors, National Association of Treasurers and Finance Officers, California Municipal Treasurers Association, and California Municipal Business Tax Association. Treasury staff does continuing education on investments and money management to stay current with treasury functions. Our automated phone system has enabled the department to maximize efficiency and productivity without adding staff. In 1997, our sick leave usage of 59%b represented a decline from the previous year. A sizeable portion of sick leave usage was a result of a major surgery of one employee, hospitalization of another, and the terminal illness of the parents of two other employees. Without these unfortunate incidents, our sick leave usage would have been 39%. The department performs annual staff evaluations. This is an opportunity to recognize employee achievements and shortcomings. It provides a two-way communication tool to express mutual concerns. We have an excellent dedicated staff as demonstrated by a low turnover rate. The following breaks down the department's resources by functional area: TREASURER'S DIVISION Automation In addition to the on-going advancements in paperless banking that the treasury has to move in tandem with, two operational items have been automated: 1) deposit permits and 2) the principal banking monthly statement reconcilement. Treasury staff has initiated computer generated deposit permits for deposits which originate from the treasury, for example, fund accounting and depositing of interest income from investments. This function accounts for over $35 million annually. Reconciling the monthly Wells Fargo statements with treasury records using a computer facilitates the examination of these records by the Grand Jury auditors and the internal audit staff. Both lend to a more professional presentation of records and give the ability to include more data or information without increasing paper usage. s _.... _........ ..._. ._.... .._ .... ....__... ........ .......... ........... Financial Resources This division is partially funded through investment service fees. Of the $669,166 spent in this division, $432,166 is required from the general fund. Gross Expenditures $669,166 Fees 237.000 Investment Service General Fund $432,166 Personnel Resources The following describes the seven and one-half (7.5) staffallocated in the Treasurer's division by job classification. .5 Department Head 1 Assistant Treasurer 1 Investment Officer 1 Treasurer's Accounting Officer 1 Accountant 1 Accounting Technician 1 Account Clerk .5 Executive Secretary .5 Senior Systems Accountant The following describes the staff by affirmative action category: Male Female Total Percent White .5 2 2.5 33.5% Hispanic .5 1.5 2 26.5% Filipino 1 2 3 40.0% Total 2.0 5.5 7.5 100% ...._.... ......... ...._.... ... __.... ......._. ......... ......... ......... ..............._... __.. ........ ........ ....... ....... . _.. ......... ....... ........ ........_. ........ ........ TAX COLLECTION DIVISION Automation The upgrade to our Supplemental Property Tax PaymentProcessing will be completed in July 1998. We are changing to a laser print bar code scanning tax bill. This will improve our payment and research process. Scanning the tax bill through our lmageTrak collection system will also eliminate the manual hand" validation of payments. We are currently reviewing counter payment systems and looking towards automation. Our present system is 28 years old, labor intensive, time consuming and costly. The system must accommodate OCR or bar code scanning technology and credit card payments. Financial Resources This division is funded mainly through collection fee revenue. Of the $2,150,694 spent in this division, $406,802 is required from the general fund. Gross Expenditures $2,150,694 Collection Fees 1 ,052,842 Special District/Schools Fees 1057000 Delinquent Collection Fees 15,000 Sale of Documents 13,000 Bad Check Fee 5,000 Sub-Division/Bulk Transfer Fees State 258,000 Property Tax Admin. Cost Recovery State 225,000 Delinquent Cast State 4,000 Mandate-- SB90 State 66,050 Delinquent Redemption Fee General Fund $ 406,802 7 __ Personnel Resources The following describes the twenty-two (22) staff allocated in the Tax Collection division by job classification. .5 department Head 1 Assistant Tax Collector 1 Tax Collections Staff Manager .5 Senior Systems Accountant .5 Executive Secretary 1 Property Tax Supervisor 1 Accountant 12 Account Clerks 3 Clerk Specialists 1.5 Field Tax Collectors The following describes the staff by affirmative action category: Male Female Total Percent White 4 12 16 72% Hispanic 1.5 1.5 3 13.9% African-American 1 0 1 4.7% Filipino 1 1 4.7% Asian 1 1 4.7 % Total 6.5 15.5 22 100°l0 s __ BUSINESS LICENSE DIVISION Automation We have recently installed a new Business License System. This software has the ability to cross check against data sets provided by the vendor, such as sales tax, property tax, telephone directories, and membership directories of state organizations. This should help in finding more businesses. We will also now be able to query the data in a variety of ways and track licenses by business types and determined geographic areas. Financial Resources The division receives 100% funding from revenues collected. Gross Expenditures $ 110,108 Fees 110,108 General Fund $ 0 Personnel Resources The following describes the one and one-half (1.5) staff allocated in the Business License Division job classification. 1 Senior Clerk .5 Field Tax Collector The following describes the staff by affirmative action category: Male Female Total Percent White .5 .5 33.3% African-American 1 1 68.7% Total .5 1 1.5 100% 9 SECTION I I I CUSTOMER SERVICE Ill. CUSTOMER SERVICE The tax collection function of the Department serves all taxpayers of Contra Costa County as well as the county, cities, special districts and schools. In performing its duties, the Department strives to avoid adversary relationships with the taxpayers by providing them with the best possible service. For example, in 1998, we will be providing property tax bills to new owners on the secured tax roll. Existing law mandates one mailing of the secured property tax bill by no later than November 1 for the December 10 and April 10 installments. In our county we mail the tax bills around late September. Therefore, new owners who are not included in the last update prior to printing the tax bills do not receive a tax bill to pay by the due dates. Providing tax bills to new owners will result in more timely payments and avoid unnecessary penalties. Our automated voice response system is available to the public 24 hours, 7 days a week. Taxpayers can access this system to obtain the status of taxes, amounts due and date of payment. The Treasury safe keeps all public monies, manages the cashflow and invests surplus funds. On April 30, 1998, the county treasury was accountable for an investment pool of over $3.6 billion. During ten months of fiscal year 1997-98, the Treasurer's Office processed over 15,000 deposit permits which equaled $2.7 billion in deposits and funded over $2.3 billion in disbursements. Its two largest clients consist of all the school districts and sanitation districts. The balance, which comprises over 59% of the clientele, includes all county departments, trusts and agencies. 10 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE _._. ................................... .___ ....._ ............._......._... .._._._..... ........... ......... ........................... ...... __. _. .................................... . IV. ANNUAL PERFORMANCE Performance Indicators/Outcomes A. Objectives - To improve tax collections and reduce delinquencies. Performance indicator (1) -- The California State Controller's Office prepares an annual tax delinquency statistical report. This report provides delinquent secured and unsecured tax data from all counties in the state. See Exhibits IV A(1) and IV A(2). Outcome - Contra Costa County has continuously remained below the state's median in delinquencies for secured and unsecured tax collections. For the fiscal year 1996-1997 the State secured tax median was 3.1% delinquent rate. Contra Costa County was 2.2.1For unsecured taxes, the state median was 3.7%. Contra Costa County was 2.3%. See Exhibits IV A(3) and IV A(4). Performance indicator (2) -- Productivity surveyconducted among six (6) comparable counties. Outcome - Contra Costa County ranked No 1 in parcels collected per employee and dollars collected per employee. See Exhibits IV B and C. Contra Costa County has continuously maintained the highest level of productivity and performance with a very lean staff. B. Objective — Have a comprehensive treasury audit for the Treasury Oversight Committee for one and a half fiscal years. Performance indicator -- Pursuant to Government Code Section 27134, the activities of the County Treasurer and the Treasury Oversight Committee have to be annually examined. Outcome — The fiscal examination concluded that only minor changes and adjustments had to be made to bath treasury records and investment policy. I1 The treasury has acted on the audit findings. The recommended investment policy changes have been integrated for FY 1998-1999, and corrections have been made to certain records. C. Objective — Annually review, revise and publish a Treasurer's Investment Policy. Performance Indicator — Pursuant to Government Code Section 27133, the "County Treasurer shall annually;prepare an investment policy . . ." Outcome — A revised investment policy will be published for FY 1998-1999 by the beginning of July 1998. 12 ......... ......... ......... ...._.... ......... ... . ........ .......................... ........ .............. ......._... ._.__.._. ......... ......... ......... ......... .............................. ..t 4tv•- p ♦dry O �y /.. p �• pq��y RAS [y yp pO�m �p p��p -flas r'} i•..�`-NCul lgssO h�AS 4 P��!'•z iDF+F!§ daw-HYa §&*V'1 -NNaO S 1D tl [ ' www t; U193 499A 2R2V R �mI Rival UP JURI E1344n n 911 Mlift 51fin Icag C9 wY+� �f1s 01 O x`•2'11 1+F Y3 lV P') /''44i h C�MY`� Ad`O, �K11 �f p� t`t OlY O ♦ pp Q YA ® N +l•�I hr♦ r�.f'yO �+e�g g, 'Mt0 g}. Ow y� i"`O! V'�y dw N M s r �S N idm Nf d.•Y �{a�i a =Ki�fAl I��gt� i uJ& 84V.'eAi'�;. 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NQt'1 wV if�N lV� ft'l �ftY �wNO �dh� �N09DM 4ONtV ID��.• NP1 Yh.� tl r N .. O O O SSW !1 Y NNwcf p Boa s* "a tis s w � SSW MH gage gz $ N Y,..� qqr o4 .�pp (p �w ♦ fV f•. h 1A h N h K P .y. d O��w �ONtD eD -�� N�'1�� Mh-�N ►. w X�� < w n h w` suzsevrazes ,� uz zzzzz z •�r ,� o <m v n,�� csx ?Y xSS�`s4 Iz: ` ze �' , .'� ally EXHIBIT IVA, I ......... ......... . .._ ........ ........__... .__................__._._......_.. ......... ......... ......... _ _...... ......... ......... ......... AOiZ..0 9 Qo #s. o b0 04 0�3 +3 i3 o ry oc o � §12 w l4��' I i�Vg1�, 29 Vti � w ek „11 1 ,; f 'ilk . n og M 't 1PI1 11299 OUHIa aa,I x IIN1 1111 1211 r x g.: I s V40.0 AV 1NM•x I9wow I"•`1 '4,11 Ilse- a t ag In I V" '1221 "111 qF_R VAR 410 R11 HN MI-02 AMP Er.11 0 1 5!jt OP-1 FIRM 029 1i PIP z dp otltltlo a o0 0oe�hrb sr.nso tl.nn a sn.s� areAro otltltlw tlwhwA r r►p ty+h .ew +,s retririn: «: a2p o�rvtci» z1i.r q rir`-2A 0•:��i� ri.ei.o�ir r:r�rf+�r dcieve}r: rir+i+r`+hori Hord ui.rini.: � : Y*I. w J ha:yao s rSR mono 2gsk lr Q..tq is o+u�ori hAl;rlt ort�a.-a saocyersa r osre� rnr{roh .ngct � »tiaer.ei ei-rtitlh onri.dn n�rar�ei --+rrdn.r .-...-nidi rd r7c..r� A+•efr'iti aie�i,-.-h rirdr:riei .-osr.. aar3.rev � aye b h. 4' 1i Max I V o im,rf es tlhu o .r�y.n ♦ A �}+rr ¢Fo re9i i/itlwi vr"a, t3 w�a �.�tlw.� sL` eVi Atlxra Jain c u pese�ku rRan kn q Npk,}v�q, w }s 4m O pOR ��.4 III== gull 1 p !f I! fb" �p ��t4 Y3 ��{b.3A I rbn;. rx� .. ��h .��r� }�w e� n Eg � tld +o+- r w Y N m Ium 414n g4 Q � 0a h a s 0414 .- .F v AI 's R ��at ffi��a ��sf �a.t �x$�{�'= a�g�� N fir w ilii ^YrJ tl NP .Crfw r i o o eFoer .r: ..r o. i rrd. r� .'i.rdrd. .•e�'brb �"' } " + s+tri i nrd .rtrC� .trl.a o`R rd + r tl rvooe►ts 0000. .0.0. -0-0- "Cc** *moo" 10000 owooa 00000 00000 0000 ow.. � Qh h �..r.o� .-AAfin tl^N o q�.p.n �otlrr� �rgR fr Ptl r�rr;wrrAr ooc�o 00000 tltlo^ oo.ro i o W r f VIE oz rCW( � tltl O� Y1 4J�0r iii � .. Ux 2Z czaRY1'i «.ctle e� Sw� ` i S�a`�aSr AlAlso l All ' w + EXHIBIT IVA, 2 STATEIMDE MEDIAN DELMUENCY PERCENTAGE FOR SECURED TAXES ----------- i FY CWNTY STATE 6.00% 9041 3.30% 4.30% 4 9132 4.10% 4.50% 9233 3,80% 5.40% 93-94 2.80% 4.10% i 9435 2.70% 3.80% 95.98 2.30% 3.80% 9837 2.00% 3.10% 1 i I i CONTRA' COSTA 4.00%- 3.00%-/ .00%3.00% ! t I z00% f I I r 1.00% i l 0.00%- 90-91 91-92 92.93 9394 94-95 9596 9697 Fl$CAL YEAR f r 1 EXHIBIT IVA(3) lITAT&YNDE MEFxAfi p NGY PJsikC@14TA�1e #F umwoim'TAXES STAU 9041 3.00% 4A0% 9142 3.80% 4.70% f . 92A3 3.50%. 8.70% `. 99.84 2.80% 4.60% 9445 2.70% 4.40% 9546 280% 4.40% s 9647 233% 3.90% { d.OD% CO$TA S ATE 7 f Uo. ti s { ti ♦,OOSL 1� f 1 � 1 i ' 1 E { f { r 1 � w osm �t&9t S14tt : 440' P19G�YfXit 94.95 f3i'! . EXHIBIT IVA(4) ................................................................................................................................................................................................... ......._. ......... ......... .._._........._........_......._..... ......_...._. ......_... ......._.........._......... ....._ PJ�R�EL$�CE?L.L�TEtY PI R�1IMIp+LaYEIz a yx.a£dtt ��,{ ,��,£ia�✓Lit�`�'.� 1 aa'�x'"P a �,�' fx�5 k4n,yr[*t��y'lYy��'a� £,,xcis`��,�'w �� P Et 14,000 q*"��,�s� ,�,�aa�M �.4g,'�s��?r�"�s r ' is S' oak � 1u`'„' ,> -,u - F a r. 14, �.z iZ` 4� F� f} '�rid 'sxlt•Va -n }1i$ i ''t�� 'ra `'�y' � �` ' £ "'�txi '�,�� ' �st��burr +•`t'>� ��.stS r S,k a� "r � ?-Y't 'r �'��+a't<• 5�,>�Ea�c � s�� s.a6 pax a�x�� , '�� 3�" SACRAMENTO 704 7, a s�,t��; ar F t '9"S ��M'� t �` �y4��v�a'A"s r,V'p F'r±'§"Qc 1 4 N v' �, SAN MATEO 9,332 � � v �� t `tis r� �ti... 12,E "?r "�y � ��F �l'ra,„ �.�*a a,�+'.��'�%5 n^�^I ��+. i,. SONOMA 9,657 � � ,�,�� >f h�a�� r��- h, ,��"��,��a �k�'�_ ,• k; VENTURA 9,993 � �t`��"r�i "s£Si��'."af• �t� � s�g��" �t�8�',�c�r�''t'r ^>o,�r. +•'�a ALAMEDA 10,528 RIVERSIDE 12846ta CONTRA COSTA 12,855 '4o,ow ' ted 4,000 Zow qq �x aS*�^: �• fit. �j,� NWE s COUP EXHIBIT IVB am R! } . r hJ G r t t$ ------------ f >� IN {f Kii .r >y f t Ml�,�{ r.f.c 4 rf tf t� � 4}t' r ng• s *� a � « .r m SECTION V CHALLENGES +& NEW DIRECTIONS V. CHALLENGES AND NEIN' DIRECTIONS Challenges — Pursuant to certain provisions of the State of California Education Code, results of electoral votes, and adopted resolutions, county schools are issuing general obligation bonds. The purpose include: seismic retrofitting, expanding and renovating existing schools, acquiring school sites, providing access to technology, and all other capital improvements to enhance educational opportunities for all its students. The Treasury has always been an active participant in all the borrowings of all agencies and districts in the county. All school districts are currently issuing general obligation bonds in varying sizes and increments. This increased borrowings trend has added to the treasury workload. Based on the long term nature of bonds, the additional workload will continue for over ten years. Challenges — New incoming Treasurer-Tax Collector. 13