Commissioners alter tax collectors’ compensation
Fayette County’s annual tax collection cost was slashed 58 percent Friday, as Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink succeeded in getting the compensation changed from 3.5 percent of what’s collected to a $1.50 flat fee per real estate tax bill. Although Zimmerlink compiled a detailed, multi-paged proposal to support her argument for change, a simple “I second it” from Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III propelled her initiative to reality.
Although the switch won’t go into effect until 2006, Zimmerlink’s figures showed that collecting county real estate and per capita taxes will cost $317,253 in 2004 under the current system, which pays tax collectors $3.50 for every $100 they collect.
The Zimmerlink flat-fee plan would have sliced that number to $132,845 for 2004 – a savings of $184,408, or 58 percent. Her figures included set costs such as $13,000 for postage and $859 for bond premiums.
Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites made the vote unanimous, but only after advocating that the county consider a higher flat fee per bill, something in the range of the $2.25 that Somerset County pays to the $2.83 that Cambria County pays.
“I’m looking closer to home (for comparisons),” said Vicites, who later added that his preference for a higher number would still have saved the county roughly $100,000 per year.
But Zimmerlink countered that her $1.50 figure was the median for the 26 other Pennsylvania counties that currently pay tax collectors a flat fee, which range from 75 cents to $4.20.
“What I’m looking to do is control the costs, and the future costs, of collecting county taxes,” said Zimmerlink as the matter was under discussion. “When I make a decision for Fayette County, I take into consideration what’s best for the entire county.”
A key part of the reason she favored a flat fee, said Zimmerlink, is that the commission rate method virtually ensures raises for tax collectors when either the county’s mileage rate or the assessed value of a property is raised.
“There’s no (cost) controlling mechanism with a commission rate,” said Zimmerlink, who added that she informed the Fayette County Tax Collectors Association when running for office in 2003 of her position on the issue.
“I was very straightforward and told them that if I was elected, I was going to work to change the method of compensation,” said Zimmerlink. “It is important that we take measures to reduce the cost of county government.”
Zimmerlink said she wanted to more appropriately match the compensation to the legally required workload of a tax collector. Another prong of her successful proposal calls for paying tax collectors a 15-cent flat fee for per-capita tax bills, down from the 3.5 percent commission they also got on that part of the system.
But the Zimmerlink proposal rankled several tax collectors who addressed the commissioners in public comment at the start of the meeting, starting with Bullskin Township tax collector Lou Bell, co-chairman of the Fayette County Tax Collectors Association.
Bell noted that the agenda for the Dec. 1 commission meeting contained 68 items but the newspaper devoted an entire article to the tax collection discussion. Bell vigorously defended the job done by tax collectors, and challenged the commissioners to glean further savings by paring the 5 percent commission rate collected by the Fayette County Tax Claim Bureau on delinquent taxes.
“We just don’t see the fat that another observer states,” said Bell, who repeated his request for a “graduated commission scale” and criticized Zimmerlink for not sharing her plan with his group ahead of time.
Replied Zimmerlink, “I would not give my proposal to you until I spoke to my fellow commissioners, out of fairness and professional courtesy.”
Franklin Township tax collector David Lengvarsky asked whether the savings squeezed from tax collector compensation would be enough to prevent a county tax increase. He added, “I don’t know if this is part of a vendetta, Mrs. Zimmerlink, because a lot of tax collectors didn’t support you in the last election.”
Zimmerlink said that wasn’t the case, and reiterated that her primary concern was bringing cost efficiency to county government. “Actually, you’re taking this personally and you shouldn’t be,” she said at another point in the debate.
Tax collector Doug Rosenberger of Henry Clay Township advocated that the county commissioners leave the rate at 3.5 percent, or at least adopt the recommendation of his association for a sliding scale commission rate.
Rosenberger said he makes just over $6,000 per year collecting county taxes and that cutting his salary might make the job not worth having.
According to a spreadsheet in Zimmerlink’s proposal, Henry Clay Township has 1,876 real estate tax parcels; at a 100 percent collection rate under the 3.5 percent method its tax collector would earn $7,655 in 2004, while the $1.50 flat fee would lower that figure to $2,814.
Zimmerlink said that state law permits a municipality to appoint a tax collector if no one chooses to run for the office.
Dunbar Township tax collector Marigrace Butela called Zimmerlink’s $1.50 flat fee “unreasonable and excessive,” and suggested that Zimmerlink take a pay cut. Butela said that she works full time as tax collector and hasn’t taken a vacation in three years.
Two citizens spoke out in favor of making the change.
Pat Britt of South Union Township said the current 3.5 percent commission rate is the highest in the tri-county area, and said it doesn’t make economic sense for the poorest county to pay the highest rate.
“The taxpayers need a break,” said Britt.
Jim Killinger of Uniontown, who formerly chaired the county’s independent Tax Assessment Appeals Board, commended Zimmerlink for taking action on a matter that many considered politically risky because of the perceived power of tax collectors in their respective municipalities.
“It should have been addressed four, eight or even 12 years ago,” said Killinger. He added that if any tax collector doesn’t like the new compensation rate, he or she has an option: “Don’t run for office. It’s that simple.”