Bradley County Trustee Mike Smith told Bradley County Commissioners in his annual report on Monday afternoon, “Bradley County is in excellent shape.”
A program that was started six years ago was given credit for some of the success. In 2010 a payment plan was implemented that will allow citizens of the county to break down property taxes into smaller increments than the total amount that is owed.
Payments can be made over a 12-month period from March through February. They can be paid in person, by mail or by bank draft. Another option that is offered is that property tax payments can be made from October through February.
Mr. Smith said the number of people who participate in these payment programs continues to increase each year with 1,182 people now signed up. He said that many of these have told him they would not be able to pay without this plan. The impact can be seen by the increased amount collected since 2013 when $347,000 was paid. That has been increased to $874,000 collected in 2016. Partial payments are also accepted on all delinquent taxes until the time that they are transferred to the clerk and master’s office.
A tax freeze program is also in effect for 1,221 parcels. This was started in 2006 and is based on age limits so that those who need it most will be helped, he said.
A tax relief program is also available for the elderly, the disabled and disabled veterans and their widows or widowers. The number of people participating in this program total 1,493.
Sales tax collections are also seeing growth, said the trustee. Collections in fiscal year 2015/2016 for Bradley County were $4,970,937, for the city of Cleveland, $30,612,667, and for Charleston, $263,350.
The increases were important for the schools, with sales tax distributions of $5,454,550 going to Bradley County, $11,467,844 to the County Schools, $6,253,948 to the City Schools, $12,137,094 to the city of Cleveland and $130,193 to Charleston.
From 2014 to 2015, Mr. Smith said he had expected to see a bigger increase in property tax revenue than there was with $42,095,816 paid in 2015. In 2014 $41,876,986 was collected.
A total of $1,776,046 was given to seven companies as payment in lieu of taxes in 2015. He said this incentive plan is a good thing and a way to give a little to get a lot.
Different investment strategies that are in place now compared to 2007 have contributed to an increase of interest over the last 10 years. The total interest collected during that time is $8,668,512.
Since 2006, said Mr. Smith, there has been a 10 percent increase in parcels plus this past year the office began collecting taxes for Charleston. This has been done with the same staff level as in 2006. The efficiency of the trustee’s office has been achieved through improved technology and management practices, he said.
Included in future plans for the office, is that tax statements can be emailed to those who have requested it. Currently there are 681 emails on file, and Mr. Smith sees this as the way of the future.