The Board of Supervisors wants to consolidate the offices of the tax assessor and tax collector.
The board says it’s about streamlining services and saving the taxpayer’s money, but Tax Collector Travis Crimm Jr. says it’s personal.
Calls Keep Coming
Some of the board members complained during Friday’s meeting that employees in Crimm’s office were directing calls to them.
Board President Cobie Collins said that he received a call from a man in California who was simply wanting to know when he could pay his taxes.
“He called wanting to pay his taxes, and they gave him my cell phone number to call,” Collins said.
District 4 Supervisor Jayne Dew said that one of the calls she received was from an elderly lady who was concerned about her taxes and had questions about the assessments.
“This was really bad because it was an elderly lady, and she was really confused,” Dew said. “And then I had to give her another number. I just think it’s a shame that people are being given the runaround. It’s bad enough to have to pay taxes, but then to be given the runaround is pitiful.”
Dew said questions about assessments should be directed to the assessor’s office because they have the information available to answer those questions.
“None of us even knew what her taxes were,” Dew said. “Beverly (Ladner) figures that. They’re being really crappy about this. The lady then asked, ‘Well why didn’t they tell me that.’”
Sign Of Problems
Dew said part of the problem is a large sign Crimm placed in his office stating that service will likely be slower due to budget cuts and directing taxpayers to contact members of the Board of Supervisors with any questions or complaints. The sign lists the telephone number of each supervisor.
“I know why people are calling; it’s because of that childish sign that he’s put up in there,” Dew said. “It’s ridiculous. That sign is absolutely the most ridiculous and childish thing I’ve ever seen. It’s not that people are having to wait in line. They are being given the wrong information.”
“They put your personal cell phone number on there,” District 3 Supervisor Willie “Deuce” Wright said to Dew.
“They gave out my personal number and David’s (Berry) work number,” Dew said. “I’ve got a big problem with that.”
When contacted later for comment on the issue, Crimm said he makes no apologies about the sign in his office, and it will remain.
He said he put up the sign in response to a recent disagreement where he believes the board cut his budget because they were upset about him sending employees to training that required their salaries to be increased. Crimm said the training is needed, and the cuts to his budget mean that his office will not be able to serve the taxpayers as efficiently.
Crimm said the calls that have been directed to supervisors have been from people who want to know why their taxes increased even though the board boasted that the county did not raise millage.
“My job is simply to collect the taxes,” Crimm said. “The board sets the tax rate, and they knew that the assessed values were going to go up. They knew, or at least they should have known, that those new assessments were going to mean tax increases.”
Consolidating Offices
During the Friday meeting, Collins instructed Board Attorney Jay Barbour to research to see how soon the offices could be consolidated and what the process would require.
“How soon can we do it,” Collins asked. “Can we have a special election for it or do we need to do it at the next county election?”
Collins said the offices were combined before, and he sees no reason why that can’t be combined again.
“If it’s going to be a problem for them collecting – if they’ve forgotten how to handle the stuff over there, and they’re going to have people calling the supervisors, I want to look at consolidating those offices.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Dew said.
Dew said it would save money to consolidate the offices. Collins said that when Mary Sue Shipp was in office she ran both the assessor and collector operations.
“Also, we’re more computerized now that we were even when Mary Sue was here,” Dew said. “It’s more data entry than anything.”
Dew added that she believes traffic in the tax collector’s office is not as bad as Crimm has represented.
“Most people pay by check,” Dew said. “They mail it in.”
“Do you really think that someone from Jackson or Biloxi or out of state is going to drive down here to pay their taxes,” Collins asked.
Dew said that combining the offices would allow taxpayers to get all of the information they need in one place.
Collins said he believes the board should have the authority to consolidate the offices because the board separated them.
Crimm, who was not present at the meeting, said later that he believes the effort to consolidate the offices is nothing more than the board retaliating against him for standing up to them.
“People are upset about their taxes increasing, and the board wants to blame us,” Crimm said. “That’s not going to work. We have no control over it, but they do.”
Collins said that the effort to consolidate the offices isn’t personal, it’s just an effort to improve services and save money for the taxpayers.
“I’m not doing it to stop them from running their mouths,” Collins said. “I want to do it to save the county money and cut down on the confusion.”
“Anybody going to that office could get all of the information at the same place,” Dew added.
