Franklin County Vision Department Mission Agency Description Business Environment Department Strategic Results Organizational Structure Lines of Business Program Description and Business Tax Collection Delinqunet Tax Collection ESCROW Portfolio Management Agency Services

Franklin County Vision

The vision of the Franklin County Commissioners’ organization is to become the best managed county in the nation by achieving results for our customers and improving the quality of life for the people of Franklin County.

Department Mission

The mission of the County Treasurer’s office is to: (1) bill and collect taxes on real estate, personal property, and manufactured homes and ensure that the revenues are distributed promptly to schools, municipalities, libraries, and other political subdivisions; and (2) manage and invest all monies deposited in the Treasury in a professional and prudent manner to ensure that they are kept safe at all times, earn a reasonable rate of return, and are available when needed so that the county can operate and provide services to citizens, political subdivisions (schools, libraries, etc.) and agencies of Franklin County.

Agency Description

The County Treasurer’s office is responsible for collecting all current and delinquent taxes on real estate, personal property, and manufactured homes in an amount that exceeds $1 billion each year, and for disbursing those revenues to local school districts, municipalities, libraries, and other government subdivisions. It administers several programs to help taxpayers meet their tax obligations, such as Delinquent Payment Plans, the Pre-Pay Budget Program and several Direct Debit options. The Treasury also manages all monies deposited in the Treasury by other county offices (from various sources including, for example, dog tag licenses, funding for neglected children, and grant money for victims of crime), and is responsible for managing an investment portfolio with an average balance of more than $500,000,000. In addition, the Treasurer serves on the Franklin County Investment Advisory Committee, the Board of Revision, the Audit Committee, the Budget Commission, the Data Board, and the Microfilm Board.

Business Environment

Several business environment dynamics impact the Treasurers Office, including but not limited to the following:

• Number of new home builds (increases number of parcels to manage)
• Real estate sales (increase record keeping and research requirements)
• Mortgage refinancings (increase record keeping and research requirements)
  Interest rates (low rates increase home sales and decrease interest earnings)
• Unemployment rates (more unemployment increases delinquency rates)
• Changes in the Ohio Revised Code (may affect the taxes we collect and how we collect them as well as permissible investments and authority to establish other programs)
• County Commissioner resolutions (authorize measures such as a linked deposit program)
  Franklin County – Managing for Results

Low interest rates promote new home builds, refinancing of mortgage loans and increases the number of real estate transactions. This activity increases the workload in the office, as records need to be updated and maintained. Further, the low interest rate market puts particular stress on the revenues earned through the investments of the county. Cash flow concerns and maintaining liquidity are critical to the successful management of the county’s money. The Treasury will remain diligent in looking for opportunities to increase investment revenues for the county by more actively managing the cash flow with a new software package developed specifically for cash management purposes. The package will also lend itself to debt management. Further, as the economy tightens, the economic conditions of the citizens will be stressed causing more tax delinquencies. This in turn will require the Treasury to look at alternative ways to collect delinquent taxes such as the implementation of a tax lien certificate sale and the development of a land bank for the county. We will also be focusing our efforts on making our Escrow Program available to taxpayers. The escrow program provides a budgeting tool for taxpayers that is especially important these days as mortgage companies are not as interested in providing escrow services due to low market rate
opportunities. The program is especially appealing to persons on fixed incomes. On another note, the Treasury will be working on a disaster recovery and contingency plan that will ensure the safety of the documents we handle and will ensure continuity of operations should an occasion arise. This plan will also include upgrading the current microfiche system to a digital imaging format.

Our short and long term goals relating to data services include improving our website to allow Franklin County taxpayers access to the office via the internet. We will also be working to improve operations by increasing efficiencies by taking advantage of banking services such as positive pay – an automated warrant reconciliation process. We will continue to work with title companies and mortgage companies to find ways to improve the tax collection process with electronic transfer of data. Another pursuit is to allow tax payments via credit card as a benefit to the taxpayers as well as a way to increase efficiencies in the office.

Our phone system has received many complaints as taxpayers wait to be served. Looking into an automated phone system that will better suit our seasonal needs will provide a possible solution. In addition, creating a more comprehensive website will provide taxpayers the information they need relieving the phone burden.

Economic conditions in the county directly impact operations at the Treasury by affecting both revenues and expenditures, especially the demand for taxpayer services. The Treasury serves both internal and external stakeholders as listed: the County Commissioners; Auditor; Data Center; Print Shop; Purchasing; Treasury employees; all county agencies; PFM; training resources; various software providers; various suppliers such as the post office, Brink’s, Xerox; financial institutions; brokers; financial advisors; service organizations; mortgage companies; title companies, other governmental subdivisions and all school districts within Franklin County; and, most important of all, the taxpayers and the public.

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Department Strategic Results

The Treasury will focus efforts in the next two years on the following:

• Increase efficiency through use of the Internet and other electronic processes.
• Reduce the delinquency rate below 4% through the implementation of a tax lien certificate sale. The delinquent tax obligations are collected in an efficient manner freeing up personnel time to focus on remaining obligations.
• Increase participation in the pre-pay tax programs from 2,700 parcels to 4,000 parcels to help taxpayers budget for their tax obligations. The result is a reduced the number of potential delinquencies and disgruntled taxpayers due to better personal budgeting.
• Maintain interest earnings that meet or exceed the Merrill Lynch treasury and the agency 1-year index.
• Increase community partnerships and reduce tax delinquencies through development of land banking services throughout the County - this initiative will also address the vacant land issues throughout the county.
• Increase public awareness and outreach efforts to improve utilization of services.This includes increasing public awareness of our Escrow Program, our delinquent tax programs, and the implementation of a credit card tax collection program.
• Increase customer satisfaction by improving the quality and timeliness of services. Internal testing and constituent feedback indicate a need for improved Internet and telephone services that will help the taxpayers gain information in a more timely and efficient manner.

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Lines of Business

The purpose of the Revenue Management Line of Business is to collect, invest, and protect the monies belonging to Franklin County so that the revenues are safe and cash flow needs are met so the county can operate efficiently. The following programs offer detail as to how this is accomplished:

1. Tax Collection – The purpose of the Tax Collection Program is to provide billing and collection services to property owners, manufactured home owners, and business owners and their agents so they can meet their tax obligations in a timely manner.
   
   Key Results: 100% of the tax bills are produced accurately and on time.


2. Delinquent Tax Collection Program – The purpose of the Delinquent Tax Collection Program is to provide billing and collection services to delinquent taxpayers so the county can make use of the revenues collected.
   
   Key Results: Under 4% delinquency.


3. Escrow – The purpose of the Escrow Program is to provide a variety of tax prepayment convenience plans to taxpayers in Franklin County so they will be better able to budget for and meet their tax obligations.
   
   Key Results: 48% increase in the number of payment contracts (2,700 to 4,000).


4. Portfolio Management – The purpose of the Portfolio Management Program is to provide cash management and investment strategy services that ensure the safety, liquidity, and yield to Franklin County and its agencies so they can receive a return on their monies and have their funds available as needed.
   
   Key Results: 100% of the principal value of the monies managed will be safely maintained while meeting cash flow requirements.


5. Agency Services - The purpose of the Agency Services Program is to provide banking services for Franklin County agencies so they can be assured their monies are accounted for properly and invested prudently.
   
   Key Results: 100% of monies will be receipted the “same day” they are received.
   

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Program Descriptions and Performance Measures

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