Dec 8, 2004 By Paul Sunyak 4 min read

Fayette County Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites says he hopes to “strike a balance” when the commissioners vote Friday morning on changing the county’s tax collector compensation method. Vicites, who joined Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink’s initiative to put the matter up for formal vote, didn’t comment extensively when agreeing at Dec. 1’s agenda meeting to move the issue forward. The county currently pays a 3.5 percent commission rate that is lucrative compared to surrounding counties.

Vicites said Monday he has performed cost analysis on several options, with an eye toward aiding taxpayers while guaranteeing the functional integrity of the revenue-collection system.

“I think that you have to be fair to the taxpayers, first and foremost, and I will keep their concern in my mind as a priority,” said Vicites. “However, in looking at this there are about 10 tax collectors who make less than $2,000 a year from the county. I think the smallest gets about $400. I just don’t want to negatively impact the system.”

With local taxes comprising the bulk of the county’s general fund budget revenue at around $9 million per year, Vicites said that while he wants to take advantage of the once-in-four-years opportunity to change the compensation method, he also wants to be reasonable.

“The revenue of the county is really the lifeblood of our budget. If we can come to a reasonable conclusion, I think it will serve the taxpayers well and not negatively impact the system as a whole,” said Vicites. “I’m sure we can strike a balance here, and there will be a savings for sure. But the final amount of savings is up to the commissioners.”

While Vicites said he’s worked up his own numbers under different scenarios, he added that he’d also like to know what his fellow commissioners are thinking in advance of Friday’s meeting.

“I anticipate some type of change being voted on … (but) I don’t know what the other commissioners’ thoughts are on it at this point. But I have done a lot of research on the different possibilities, method-wise, on how it affects each of the tax collectors,” said Vicites.

“Maybe an e-mail or something in writing (from the other commissioners) would be nice, before I finalize my position on it.”

Vicites said the most likely changes appear to be going with a flat fee per tax bill or keeping the percentage method but grafting it onto some type of sliding scale. The former is used in neighboring Somerset County, which pays tax collectors $2.25 per bill collected regardless of the amount. The latter is used in neighboring Westmoreland County, which pays 1.2 percent on the first $400,000 collected and gradually decreases that percentage to .53 percent on anything over $800,000.

At the commission’s Dec. 1 agenda meeting, Bullskin Township tax collector Lou Bell, who serves as cochairman of the Fayette County Tax Collectors Association, advocated that the county consider keeping the compensation rate at 3.5 percent for the first $500,000 collected, then dropping it to 2.5 percent on the next $500,000, and lowering it further on tax collections over $1 million.

Vicites acknowledged, “It could be per-bill or it could be a sliding scale, depending on the final number … whatever the commissioners decide. I’m still flexible on this but I have costed out several of the methods.”

Zimmerlink has said that she wanted to hear input from all sides at the Dec. 1 agenda meeting before deciding which method of change she preferred. In spearheading the effort, Zimmerlink has said that reducing tax collection costs, and maintaining and controlling future costs, are her top goals.

Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III, who left the Dec. 1 agenda meeting before the vote to place the tax collection method on the agenda, did not return a call to his office seeking comment. Hardy exited in a huff as the commissioners were debating a $16 million courthouse renovation and building a new $35 million county prison, two projects he thinks are vital.

The commissioners must approve any change in tax collector compensation by Feb. 15 of next year; otherwise, the chance will evaporate for another four years.