12-09 The November Elections have come and gone - though I
started a year before them to try & discern the tax collector's
income and what we really pay totally to collect our taxes, I
failed to get any clear cut picture - I was given the budget
book, the audit pages and a variety of things - none of which
told the WHOLE story . If you can fill in any blanks ,
please do - it's all at the bottom of the page.
8-09 See below for a layout of the overall tax
office responsibilities, which I will update as I receive more
information.
Do Abington taxpayers deserve to have an accurate
picture of the tax office ????? I have been trying to do
that since Fall 08 and have been given the royal run
-around . In a township that has at least twice had tax office
irregularities and even a tax collector that earned a prison
term, I find this inexcusable. I cannot get a
straight answer out of anyone with a single figure for the
complete cost of collecting all our taxes & the percentages
collected - not from my Commissioner, tax collector, nor
township manager . One figure. One I think they should
know & would compare & manage or oversee as new candidates came
to the job .
As candidates are chosen, the
parties that are endorsing them should also be privy to this
information and know how their candidates planned to stream-line
the office or offer an improved service. In the discourse
so far for the up-coming election, I heard no such information
re the over-all duties.
My queries were directed originally to the
budget for answers, from which the answer is not readily
discernable. I am now being directed, after months & months
of partial answers, to the audit report - who knows how many
pages at 25 cents a page . Will the answer even be there? There
is supposed to be a summary sheet of sorts in there .
I was more interested in
knowing that my Commissioner & manager KNEW the cost ---- that
there was some oversight going on with our funds. If they
do know it and are refusing to divulge it, shame on them . To
residents and media personnel I ask ----- will this be a
feature of the squaring off of the candidates.......????
It will be up to you .
______________________________________
Here's what we've got so far....... as of 12-09
TAXES & FEES SUMMARY
loosely using mostly 2008 & some 2009 figures as they were
made available
QUESTIONS
Does Tax
Collector have benefits package?.............._________????????
Do tax office employees have benefits packages?
The Tax Collector hired another new person in 2009 - how much
were tax office salaries increased ?
Was his Workload increased --- Were additional duties added?
The tax collector gave back 17,000 in (2008? ) according to a
campaign letter by his wife circa 10-09 - why & to whom?
How many hours a day does the tax collector actually put in
to this job He has several other jobs either volunteer or pay
-if he has to hire an additional person in the office
because he is working elsewhere and collecting other salaries &
benefits that is cost to us - he recently added another
employee to the tax office. Were additional duties added?
Why is the tax office duty done in this manner rather than bid
out? Some of these are required by 1st class township
code -------Do we have an option to change the way that
works?
Act 511
taxes are not required to be collected by tax collector We
reduced our % on some of these taxes in 09 from 3 to 2.5 but
then we had an increase in the expenses
If we pay a % why do we also pay for postage, materials etc.
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES
ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
TAX BASE (Real Estate Value)
Township
RE 3,384,598,864 (3.3 Billion)
reg
due 12,174, 213 interims 20,179 prior
interims
3,679 = 12,198,71
County 3,384,598,864 (3.3 Billion) reg due
9,121,325 interims 14,937 prior interims 2,910
= 9,139 172
School 3,388,215,119 (3.3 Billion) reg due
88,041,904 interims 220,271 prior interims 55,103 =
88,317,278
OVERVIEW * AMT DUE
( elsewhere as) COLLECTED OUTSTNDNG %
COLLECTD
Real EstateTax (w/Fire).. 12,198,71 audit 12,000,000
budg bk 11,975,121 audit ____________
Sewer Fees ………… 7,471,949 audit 8,806,383 budg bk
7,356,581 audit ____________
Refuse Fees ………… 4,871,856 audit 5,584,454 budg bk
4,771,536 audit ____________
Local ServicesTax.…… 1,000,000
budg bk _____________ ____________
Bus Priv & Merc Tax....
5,400,000 budg bk ___
_________ ____________
Waste Generation Fee 193,591 audit xxxxxxx
191,749 audit ____________
Permits/Inspections….. .
xxxxxxx _____________ ____________
In-Lieu-Of Taxes..……. .
500,000 budg bk _____________ ____________
Earned Income .……… .. 6,250,000
??? _____________ ____________
Realty Transfer Tax…..
1,000,000 budg bk
_____________ ____________
School Taxes………….... 88,317,278 audit xxxxxxxxxx
86,288,772 audit
County Taxes …………. 9,139,172 audit xxxxxxxxx
8,972,280 audit ____________
TOTAL TAXES & FEES
____________ __ญญ___________
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT ________________________
REAL ESTATE TAXES (& Fire)
$
10,357,013 due --- ?collected by Tax Collector
We
pay : TWP Millage = 3.637 x assessment
( General 1.83 / Fire .567 / Library .43 / Debt .40 / Permanent
Improvements .15/ Ambulance.01 / Parks&Rec .25 )
Township pays wages to Tax Collector to collect RE taxes
...............................................................$
10,000 .
Township expenses paid separately on behalf of RE taxes
Materials (forms, envelopes) RE txs ……………$ 4,400
Postage RE ……………………………….………$ 5,000
Computer (hard & soft maint & uogrades ……...$ 5,000
Computer Time ……………………………..........$ 11,812
Insurance RE txs ………………………………...$ 2.400
Social Security (twp’s share) RE txs…………... $ 765
Legal ……………………………………………….$ _____
Bond ………………………………………………..$ 1,400
Audit ………………………………………………..$ _____
Medical …………………………………………….$ _____
Total Pd by Township TO Others for Real Estate
Taxes………… ……………………………..…..$ 30,777
Township cost to manage & to pay these
expenses…..……………………….………………….…$??????????????
________________________
SEWER FEES
$____________ due collected by Tax Collector
We
pay based on Water useage = gallons ( special for
commercial? )
REFUSE FEES $____________ due collected by Tax Collector
We
pay based on size of Can
or special for commercial $264 or more
TOTAL Sewer & Refuse Commission paid to Tax Collector
……………………….................................$ 12,000
_______________________
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
LST
TAX (Local Services Tax) - 511 Tax $_________ due collected by Tax Collector
We pay: Each employee in the Township pays - $52.00 per
employee
Township pays Tax Collector Commission at rate of (2.5%)
…………...………………………………$ see BPT
Township expenses paid for BPT/LST taxes
Materials BPT/LST …………………………. $ 4,000
Postage BPT/LST …………………………....$ 2,650
Computer BPT/LST …………………………..$ 1,500
Insurance BPT/LST …………………………. $ ____
Social Security BPT/LST ........................... $
____
Legal BPT/LST ……………………….. .….$ 1,000
Bond… BPT/LST …& sewer & refuse)….…$ 1, 700
Audit Services BPT/LST listed 2 places as $ 12,000
also listed as $7,200 & probably includes
annual audit listed by SM as 3,850
Medical....………………………………….......$ ______
TOTAL expenses paid BY Township to Others for BPT/LST taxes
: ………………….………………...$ 22,850
Township cost to manage & to pay BPT/LST
expenses…..……………………….………………………..$ ???????????
________________________
BPT
(Mercantile & Business Priviledge)
- 511 Tax
-$5,400,00 due - collected by Tax Collector
BPT 3.5million Mercantile 1.9 million =5.4 million x2.5% up
to 3 million and 3.0% over 3 million
Businesses Pay : RETAIL .0015 WHOLESALE .001 SERVICE .004
of gross receipts
Township pays Tax Collector commission @ 2.5% for Mercantile
& Business Taxes ………………… $ !84,638 incl LST
*This is listed In one place in budget as $184,638 & on a
different budget page as $160,050
and listed on SM's sheet as $159,250
_______________________
CERTIFICATIONS & OTHER FEES
( Mortgage Companies paid this approximate amount to Tax
Collector.................................................$
43,586
(This is to Process direct withdrawals for property taxes and
coordinate tax
escrow amounts - Not sure if it includes any other
certifications requested.
This is not a cost to the Township but represents $ mortgage
co's receive
from their clients )
_______________________
MISC
OTHER TAXES , FEES or COSTS ????
PAID
TO TAX COLLECTOR
Other Commissions ,Certifications, Fees not elsewhere
listed…$_________
Reimbursements ( from Audit ) ……………………………………$ 11,222
Rent Break …………………………..……………………………....$ 3,600
Interest Income on business account ……………………………$ 711
TOTAL MISC COSTS Pd by Township to Tax
Collector……………………………………………………..$ 15,533
PAID TO OTHERS :
Audit Costs ……………………………………………...……….. $ see BPT
Delinquency Legal Costs …(Portnoff)……………………………$ ????
############ how are these done? #########
Other Delinquency fees or costs …………………………………$ _____
Other Legal Costs ……………………………………………..…..$ ______
Computer Costs …………………………………………………...$ ______
Other ………………………………………………………………...$ ______
TOTAL MISC COSTS Pd by Township to others
……………………..……………………………..$ ?????? + delinquencies
Township cost to manage & to pay these
expenses…..……………………….………………….…$ ______
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
________________________
PERMITS AND INSPECTIONS
$ _______
collected by dept personnel
Most of these fees used to be part of our taxes . Then the
existing fees were increased and used to run the zoning/code
enforcement dept, which runs largely on them today & other
depts. They are paid by the individuals and businesses that use
these services and the intent is to have the people who use the
services pay the cost. However, the activity of the zoning/code
enforcement dept & the other depts that charge these fees
extends beyond simply processing these requests - so an inquiry
into the breakdown of the income related is warranted to get an
overall view of our taxes & fees.
Amounts received……………………………………………………$_______
cost of collection ……………???....…………………………..….. $________
________________________
IN-LIEU-OF TAX PAYMENTS
$500,000 collected?? Only $390 shows up as a revenue source
in the Budget book - yet
13%
of Abington properties are tax exempt per budget book
-agreements with them have yielded an annual payment of
over $500,000. ??????
( is this the "value" of whatever was "given" -rather than
cash since only $390 shows up as a revenue source p21or 23 )
in 2010 budget the figure of 414,000 was used for "In Lieu of"
taxes and it was explained that they were about 75% of what they
would pay normally.
_______________________
EIT
(Earned
Income Tax)
- $
6,250,000 due- collected by Berkheimer
Each Employee pays 1% ( .5 % goes to township .5% goes to
school )
Commission to Berkheimer to collect . (1.75%)
…………………………………......$_.$ 109,000 ????
Other fees or expenses paid to or for Berkheimer…………………
…………..……….$_________
= Township pays Commission to Berkheimer to collect EIT………..
…………………………………… .$ 109,000 ???
_______________________
REALTY TRANSFER TAXES
amt
due $____ Collected by __?
TOTAL
……………………………………………..…………………………………..........................……...$
_______????????
Not sure how these are collected.
______________________________________
Utility Realty Tax ( cell towers renting land from us )
TOTAL ……not instituted til 09 $7000 expected in 09 per
10-22-09 Budget Workshop
______________________
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
SCHOOL TAXES
amt
due .$_________ collected by tax collector
Millage = 27.09 x assessment
School paid wages to Tax
Collector...................................................................................$
35,500 (approx)
$30,000
given by SK
( Rockledge Tax Collector receives $3,960)
School Additional Tax Costs
Legal ………………………………………….$ ____
( Rockledge …….?)
Bonding of Tax Collector …………………...$ ____
( Rockledge …….?)
Audit ………………………………………….$ ____
(Rockledge …….?)
Medical ……………………………………….$ 14,000
These were mentioned at 2/09 schl brd mtg
(Rockledge …….?)
Expenses for non mandated services ……$ 4,000
( Rockledge up to 1800 for Non-Mandated )
Bond service ………………………………. $ 10,028
( Rockledge 1,278 Mandated Expense)
Tax Forms Abington ……………………… $ 3,300
( Rockledge 410 Mandated Expense )
Postage ……………………………………….$ 6,850
(Rockledge $610 Mandated Expense )
Computer Costs ……………………………...$ 9,300
(Rockledge -Mandated Expense
Installment Option for taxes ………………..$ 5,500
( Rockledge…?)
TOTAL ADDITIONAL COSTS paid by School to others
……………………………….$ __________ (45,000 thus far)
In (Feb?) 09 Tax Collector rec'd approval of an inflation
rider from Schl Board
________________________
COUNTY TAXES
amt due …………$_________ collected by tax collector
We pay County Mills 2.659 x assessment
Other fees, expenses,wages paid to or for TaxCollector………
........ $ 77,737
=TC commission, or other monies for County taxes……………………$
______
TOTAL COUNTY TAXES PD ……………………………………………………………………………………..$
_______
________________________
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
WASTE GENERATION FEE
amt due …………$_________ collected by tax
collector
Whoever pays - they pay 193,591 per audit report . This was
never mentioned in requests
about TC income prior to 8-09
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
TAX OFFICE
ACCOUNTING
Expenses :
Salaries staff of 4 .(or 5?) . (from audit)................. .$
123,387
SK listed 100,000
Payroll Taxes (from
audit).......................................$ 10,611
Payroll taxes on income (from audit)........................$
34,307 ############### different from line above? #########
Hospitalization (from
audit).......................................$ 18,290
Insurance (from
audit)..............................................$ 1,247
######## (same as 2,400 listed in RE ? ) ##########
Other Taxes (from
audit).........................................$ 800
####### what are these? ###########
Rent (from
audit).......................................................
$ 1,200
Office Supplies (from
audit).................................... .$ 5,757 ########
in addition to $4,000 + 4,400 twp pays ######
Printing & Reproduction (from audit)................. …….$
0
Miscellaneous expense (from audit)................. …….$
4,781 #########what is this? ####################
Tax Collector Draw …(from audit)............................. $
152, 328
Tax Collector Equity …(from audit)................. ..….... $
32,303
Does Tax Collector have benefits
package?.............._________????????
(( Tax Collector's wife wrote that he gave 17,000 of his
earnings to the township -- why - to whom ??? )
TOTAL Expenses to run Tax office …………..……………………………………..………$
352,708
Expenses Allocated:
Portion attributed to Twp……………….…$________
Portion attributed to School ……………...$________.
Portion attributed to County ……….……..$________
Portion to Waste Generation……………..$
Other attributed to_______……………….$________
Income Received from :
FROM
RESIDENTS
Mortgage Processing
..................... …$ 43,586
TOTAL RESIDENT & BUSINESS INCOME R'CVD BY TAX OFFICE
………….…$43,586
FROM TOWNSHIP
Township Real Estate ........................... $
10,000
Township Sewer & Refuse ............... …$ 12,000
BPT/LST………. …...………………..…….$ 184,638
( $184,638 (p52-58 budget bk))
Misc Other (Reimb Rent Break Interest ...$ . 15,533
TOTAL TWP INCOME RECEIVED BY TAX OFFICE ……………………………….$
222,271
2009 Budget request is for 37,165 for Tax Collector Admin &
205,788 for 511 tax admin
School.W................................................. $
35,500
?Not sure what part of addt'l costs is rec'd...$ 45,000 ?????
TOTAL
SCHOOL INCOME RECEIVED BY TAX OFFICE …………………………$ 35,500 or $
80,500?????not sure
County pays to tax collector
......................................... ..$ 77,737
Other County pd to tax office ? ……………………….….$ ______
Other County fees or costs ( postage, materials ) ) pd ..$
______
TOTAL COUNTY INCOME RECEIVED BY TAX OFFICE ……………………….…$
?????????????????
Other ( ie for Real Estate Transfer Taxes or other )
………………………………….$ __ ______
TOTAL INCOME REC'D FROM ALL SOURCES …………………………………….$ ______
________________________
THIS
IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO GET A
VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE NOT TO
BE TAKEN AS FACT
ANALYSIS
PAID
BY RESIDENTS OR BUSINESSES INDIVIDUALLY
Residents charged by their
Mortgage Companies for processing ...................... ...$
43586
( Have yet to check to be certain this charge is passed on
to the Mortgagee)
Permits/ Inspections ………………………………………………………………………$ ????????
TOTAL
________________________________________________________________________$43,
586
PAID BY THE TOWNSHIP
PAID TO TAX COLLECTOR RE Sewer Refuse BPT/LST& Misc ……….$
222,271 + waste generation + RE Transfer
RE Tax expenses paid to others
……................................................... ..$
30,777
BPT/LST tax expenses paid to others ……………………..………………..$ 22,850
Misc Other tax expenses ( Bonding, legal delinq etc)
…………………… $ 0 ?? +delinquencies
TOTAL Township cost to manage & to pay RE BPT/LST Misc
expenses… ………$ 275,898 +delinquencies
+ Waste
gen
RE Transfer
PAID TO BERKHEIMER for EIT………………………………………………………………… $
109,000 or more ???
TOTAL
_________________________________________________________________________
$ 384,898
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
PAID BY SCHOOL
School paid wages to Tax Collector
...................................................... ...... $
35,500 (approx)
School pays separate expenses ( not including Rockledge )
………..... ..$ 45,000
School pays Rockledge Tax Collector and Expenses ……… $ 8000 +
……$ 0 to Abington
TOTAL
__________________________________________________________________________$
80,500 approx
PAID
BY COUNTY
Paid
to Tax Collector …………………………………………………………. $ 77,737
TOTAL
___________________________________________________________________________$
77,737
FINAL OVERALL TAX & FEE COLLECTION analysis
Paid
by Individuals & Bus pd total…...$ 43,586 for certs then add
zoning fees etc
Paid by
Twp pd total………………...…$ 275,898 excluding EIT 109k?+ delinquencies
waste gen RE transf & permits
Paid by School total incl Rockledge....$
80,500.
Paid
by
County total…………………....$ 77,737
Total cost to collect ………………………… …$ 480,721 +EIT
$109,000? = $594,721 div by 21,000 homes = 28 per hse
Total Collected Divided by total cost to collect $ 480,000 =
Collection Rate 2.5-2.7 %
Total Amount due ___________ div by Total amount collected
________ equals overall success rate_______
WHO PAYS THE MOST
Collected by
Tax Collector for Township 31 million at a cost of
384,898
Collected by Tax Collector for the School 88 million at a
cost of 35,500 or 80,500 =
Collected by Tax Collector for County 9 million at a
cost of 80,000
______________________________________________________________
THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT PUT TOGETHER BY A RESIDENT TRYING TO
GET A VIEW OF THE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS - THESE FIGURES ARE
NOT TO BE TAKEN AS FACT
TAX & FEE COLLECTION for Township only
Individuals & Bus paid…..$_______
Twp paid ………………...$________
Total cost to collect ………………………………………………………….$
Total Cost to Collect __________Divided by total collected
____________ = Collection Rate _________
TAX OFFICE CHARGEBACKS
Based on % of the budget allocated to each dept, the costs of
the collections listed in the 2009 prelim budget
Are:
-$256,195 . This is allocated back to the depts. Based on the %
of the budget used by each dept.
Police ……………………- 30.59 % .………………$ 78,371
Library …………………........4.84% ……………….$ 12,417
code enforcement……… … 1.79%....................…$ 4,588
engineering ……………….. .79%-………..……..$ 2,027
public works……………….. 10.45% .……………...$ 26,783 ( incl general &
highway-aid fund budget dollars only)
Parks and rec……………….. 8.30%-……………...$ 21,284
fire service ……………………4.5% ………………..$ 11,556
vehicle maintenance …………5.2% ……………….$ 13,423
WWTP (???) …………………20.264% ……………$ 51,917
TOTAL ……………………….100% ……………….$ 256,195
_________________________
