NCPTS helps Wake Tax Office ‘do more with less’

From the October 2004 issue of CountyLines

Wake’s 98.88 percent tax collection rate is highest of any urban county in state

By Emmett Curl
Director, Wake County Department of Revenue

Imagine this: Joe Smith calls the tax office and swears that he paid his car tax bill a long time ago and never received any notices from the county about it being late. With a few keystrokes, his transaction history shows when and where an original bill was sent, any payments made since then and by whom, when and where a delinquent bill was sent, proof of mailing and proof of receipt if the certified letter was signed for.

Or this: Jane Smith goes online to check the status of her tax bill. She is surprised to see that she is a few days delinquent on her payment and immediately transfers over the money from her checking account.

Imagine no more. These scenarios come true on a daily basis in the Wake County Revenue Department, which has implemented a new integrated system for tax assessments and collections that dramatically reduces tedious paperwork while putting data in the hands of those who need it.

By using better technology and best business practices, Wake County’s Revenue Department is living true to the adage of “doing more with less.” As proof, the department has not added employees since 1995. However, since that time, the number of parcels assessed and taxed has grown from 171,000 to 285,000, the number of vehicle tax bills has grown by 20,000 each year, and new businesses have been added at the rate of 1,200 per year.

Just as impressive, the county increased its collection rate to 98.88 percent in 2003-04, the highest for any urban county in North Carolina. That’s up from 98.31 percent in 2003 and translates into $2 million in additional revenue.

At the same time, the office was able to collect $2.5 million in back taxes, an improvement so significant that the county’s auditors asked how it was done.

A major reason is that the staff has more time to focus on collections now, thanks to time and money saved by using more efficient business practices. The entire collections process, including researching, notifying and garnishing delinquent taxpayers, is accomplished with much less effort because the new software system manages all of the paperwork, generates forms and keeps electronic files of every step along the way. The number of cases investigated by staff has doubled in the past year as a result.

By North Carolinians for North Carolinians

For the last six years, Wake County has worked with Intelligent Information Systems (IIS), an N.C.-based technology services company, to design software that meets state law requirements and establishes a fast, efficient method of working that reduces paperwork while putting data in the hands of those who need it. The result is an advanced technology solution that provides a comprehensive property tax administration, collection, billing and appraisal system.

Wake County went live with the Personal Property and Billing modules in 1999 and followed with the Collections and Motor Vehicles modules in March 2003.

The software was developed in partnership with IIS at a cost of about $3.5 million. Recognizing our regional leadership role in technology, and in the spirit of partnership and cooperation, the county agreed to make this integrated property tax system software available to all 100 counties in North Carolina through the NCACC.

The software is now called NCACC Collaborative Property Tax System (NCPTS). In return for transferring ownership of the system to the NCACC, the county will receive future system upgrades at no charge and will have a standing seat on the software governing board that the Association has established to manage maintenance and upgrade schedules and fees.

Newfound efficiency

Wake County keeps its eye on one goal: providing excellent customer service at a lower cost via a more productive staff.

Our goal is to deliver to citizens the highest level of customer service possible while also delivering the highest quality product that can be delivered. This product includes accurate valuations, a complete listing of all property, and a system that integrates information and allows staff to assist customers in solving any problem or issue concerning the collection and valuation process.

To meet this goal, we have transformed the way day-to-day tasks are done. As a result, Wake County has increased its collection rates, improved its productivity and enhanced its customer service. Cases can now be managed more effectively by managers, employees and even other cities and towns who have a stake in the tax collections process – allowing staff to focus more time and attention on other priority efforts such as delinquent collections.

Better business practices

How did the county gain this newfound efficiency? For one, we put better business practices into play. The staff was cross-trained, for example, to allow the county to more effectively utilize personnel across the variants in the tax cycle workload throughout the year.

This is a process that never ends. Every manager and staff person is dedicated to training, training and more training. The office devotes a full-time position – held by Susan Campen – to training. Initially, all managers are cross-trained and able to work at a deputy department director level. Then, each employee is cross-trained on the systems and activities.

The training involves all aspects of the Revenue Department functions – software usage, research strategies and telephone tips. Standardized testing is used to make sure employees are providing the correct information and using the software to its full potential.

All staff, except appraisers and auditors, can now function as cashiers (handling walk-in customers), customer service agents on the telephone, and case managers collecting delinquent taxes. New employees start as cashiers to gain a solid understanding of the office’s functions and person-to-person customer service opportunities before moving into other office positions.

Better technology

NCPTS has impacted virtually every touch point of the tax assessment and collections process. Here is just a sample of the areas of improvement the county is seeing:

• Delinquent notices: Previously, staff worked on cases as time was available. Because productivity across the revenue department has improved so substantially, staff now has more time to spend on delinquent notices. In July 2003, the county was chasing delinquent accounts at the $1,000 level. By July 2004, the county had gained the capacity to spend time on accounts down to the $300 delinquent level.
• Answering questions: Before, staff would transfer customers to appropriate areas based on the nature of the question. Now, all information is at the staff’s fingertips. Customers explain their issue or question once, get better information faster, and are not repeatedly transferred to different staff members. And every transaction and interaction with the customer is recorded, so a history is available.
• Data entry: Staff used to be required to enter data numerous times, manually generate reports and file them. But now, because NCPTS is an integrated system, information has to be entered just once, and all pertinent data about the taxpayer or business is available across all applications.
• Measuring performance: Previously, supervisors and employees prepared their own reports or kept their own logs about the status of projects. Now, supervisors can check the queue at any time. Daily reports allow them to prioritize cases, assign them to agents and check on their status. Staff productivity is monitored and compared, so the workload is spread equitably, and high performers can be recognized and rewarded.
• Demand analysis: With the old system, utilization of staff and other resources was primarily based on subjective information. With NCPTS, daily reports are generated that analyze the activity levels of the office that day, such as the number and types of questions coming from customers. This allows the office to review daily and weekly activity and make adjustments that may reduce the volume of questions by providing additional resources on the Web site or phone system that allow the customers to help themselves.

Customers helping themselves

Another piece of the puzzle is that new systems have allowed customers to serve themselves to the best extent possible, using either touch-tone telephone systems or the county’s Web site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new systems have cut telephone calls by 22 percent – freeing staff to focus on other priorities such as delinquent collections. Some of the innovations include:

• Paying taxes by telephone: Using a credit card, citizens and businesses may pay their taxes by telephone. That means no more trips downtown to pay taxes. A service fee is charged for this service by the vendor.
• Paying taxes online: Taxpayers may pay their taxes online by electronically transferring funds from checking accounts.
• Paying taxes via satellite offices: In addition to the main office in downtown Raleigh, the county has established nine satellite offices that allow customers to pay taxes in person at various locations.
• Web site searches: Anyone can search real estate records on the Web or check tax bills and payments. In some cases, customers themselves are finding out they are delinquent on their taxes, which serves both them and the county.
• Online business listing system: Currently, 26 percent of businesses are using the online system that allows them to list their assets, and 75 percent are using the system to request filing extensions – tasks that were once completed by telephone or fax and required staff to process the paperwork.

Continuing to improve

While still evolving, the progress made by the Revenue Department over the past five years has been remarkable. By focusing on both technology and business practices, the office provides excellent customer service, collects more money and has increased efficiencies by maintaining current staff levels during a time of unprecedented population growth.

We are not resting on our laurels. Wake County is on the verge of implementing a Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) system. This system will integrate 10 years’ worth of detailed property tax records and deeds with mapping information from the county’s Geographic Information Services division.

When properties or parcels are changed on the mapping system, the CAMA system will automatically be notified, and that parcel will be placed into work queues so assessors will make appraisal decisions about it. This work queue will not require any duplicate data entry once the changes are on the map, allowing staff time to be used elsewhere. The new system should be in place by the end of 2004.

The CAMA system will result in a tremendous improvement in productivity. Along with a deep history of activity we have available, the system is key for us to be able to make informed decisions that serve us now and in the future.