New accounting system offered to Fayette County tax collectors nixed
Lally
A new accounting system to streamline tax collections and reporting was recently introduced to Fayette County tax collectors. Shown is a typical tax bill.
A new accounting system that has been offered to Fayette County tax collectors at no charge has been nixed, much to the disappointment of the county controller.
In February, county Controller Sean Lally requested the 39 tax collectors attend a session to learn about the availability of a web-based accounting system provided by RBA Professional Data Systems that, if implemented, would aid in the reporting of county taxes.
However, only 17 attended the sessions and none has made further inquiry, according to Lally and Larry Hilands, technical consultant for the State College firm.
The step-by-step sessions instructed the participants how to set up the program, enter the tax information and produce accurate reports for state, county, municipal and school district taxing bodies.
The course was offered following the arrest of Fayette City tax collector Joanne Marie Kushnar for allegedly misappropriating about $34,000 from the municipality and nearly $18,600 from the Belle Vernon School District.
While no money was embezzled from the funds due the county, it was Lally’s office that reported the inconsistencies to police after auditing the 2011 accounts.
Kushnar is charged with two counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and a single count of receiving stolen property. A trial in the matter has not been scheduled.
Lally said the RBA system would prevent future thefts and provide accurate accounting reports from the tax collectors.
“The RBA system was demonstrated in an attempt to educate and inform tax collectors of other methods that could be available to them,” said Lally. “The system, because of its design, also would offer consistency to the process of tax collection.”
The RBA system – which is also used by the assessment office – would allow scanning technology that would eliminate accounting errors and provide accurate reports for all taxing bodies, the state and county, he added.
Hilands said that the web-based system is user friendly and provides the tax collector with easy access to the information once it is within the system.
“They can do it from home or from the library or anywhere there is a computer with Internet access,” said Hilands.
Marigrace Butela, Dunbar Township tax collector and Fayette County Tax Collector Association president, said that each municipal collector has their own accounting system and those figures are audited yearly by the county controller.
Butela said that she and about eight others use a similar accounting system to the RBA system and find that it meets their respective needs.
“It is very user friendly, it is accurate and it is easy to retrieve information,” she said.
The elected municipal tax collectors collect real estate taxes for the city, borough or township, school district and county.
In some instances they are also tasked to collect certain local taxes imposed by the municipality.
The county collects its real estate and per capita taxes for the cities of Connellsville and Uniontown and Ohiopyle Borough.
According to Butela, tax collectors are essentially contractors, not employees and therefore are not mandated to manage their records in any particular system.
“Some use a ledger and some use a spreadsheet,” she said.
“It all depends on what they are comfortable with as to what they use.”
Butela did not attend the February session due to prior commitments.
Andrea Kovach, Luzerne Township tax collector, did attend the session but did not find the RBA system to offer a better product than the one she developed for her use.
“I went because I wanted to see what was going on,” she said. “I did learn a few things, but I like my own system. It works and I’ve always balanced to the penny.”
Tax collectors are paid by each entity they provide services.
The compensation rates vary at the municipal and school district levels.
The county recently agreed to raise the rate paid from $2.05 per bill to $2.20 per bill beginning in 2014.
They are additionally compensated for certain mailing costs and copies provided to residents.
An increase can not take effect the same year as the election for the tax collectors. All but four of the collectors are seeking re-election this year.
The additional 15 cents per bill will cost the county coffers about $10,400.
Current annual compensation rates range from about $280 paid to Lori Frazee, Markleysburg tax collector, to $13,640 paid to James Mari, North Union Township tax collector, according to information provided by the controller’s office.
In 2012 the tax collectors turned over about $17.3 million in real estate tax and $210,522 in per capita tax to the county.
Hilands, meanwhile, said that if used, the tax collectors would find the system to be efficient and accurate.
“And we are offering it at no cost and providing group training sessions and to help with any problems they might have,” he said.
“I believe it would be beneficial to the tax collectors and the county.”