HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10190 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10190
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 23, 2018
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SUBJECT: HISTORY OF TARRANT COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR
1075 COSTS
Background:
The City of Fort Worth began contracting with the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector in 1992 to
collect property taxes on the City's behalf. Prior to this initial contract, the City collected and billed
property taxes internally, with City staff performing these activities. The services provided by the Tax
Assessor-Collector also include collection of the City's assessments associated with our Public
Improvement Districts and properties located within the City of Fort Worth, but outside of Tarrant County.
With the exception of the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville, and the Grapevine/Colleyville Independent
School District, all taxing units within Tarrant County are collected by the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-
Collector through contract.
The City's property taxes are levied each October 1 on the assessed value as of the previous January 1
for all real and personal property. Property taxes attach as an enforceable lien as of January 1. Taxes
are due October 1 and full payment can be made prior to the following February to avoid penalty and
interest charges. Tax payers also have the option of paying one-half of their taxes by November 30 and
the remaining amount by June 30 to avoid penalty and interest charges.
The county Tax-Assessor Collector applies the values provided by the Tarrant County Appraisal District, a
separate entity governed by a five member board, to generate the annual tax statements. Texas law
requires that all appraisals be fair and uniform. Almost all properties in Tarrant County will pay taxes to at
least five local taxing units: the county, the county college district (Tarrant County College), the county
hospital district (John Peter Smith Health Network), a municipality, and a school district. Residents also
commonly pay taxes to the Tarrant County Regional Water District and the Emergency Services District.
Discussion:
An analysis of the last fifteen years of data associated with the collection of property taxes by the Tarrant
County Tax Assessor-Collector has been completed. Detailed information by year is shown on the
document attached hereto; summary information is provided below.
Number of Accounts: the number of accounts billed on behalf of the City has grown from
236,000 in FY2005 to over 669,000 in FY2019, marking an increase of 433,000 accounts which
represents an 183% increase.
Cost of Billing Per Account: the City's current cost per account for billing services located within
Tarrant County is $0.98, marking a 96% increase from the 2005 costs of$0.50 per account.
Beginning in fiscal year 2013, the County bifurcated the costs of in-county and out-of-county billing
services. Prior to this time period, all accounts were billed at the same rates. Today, the City pays
$2.60 for billing services for accounts located outside of Tarrant County, up from the original cost
of$0.90 in fiscal year 2013.
Total Contract Costs: In fiscal year 2005, the City paid approximately$118,000 to the County for
billing services. In fiscal year 2019, it is anticipated that almost $683,000 will be paid for this same
service. Increases over the 15-year period equate to $565,000 or 478%.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10190
pATtATo the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 23, 2018
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SUBJECT: HISTORY OF TARRANT COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR
1075 COSTS
The out-of-county accounts (Parker, Wise, and Denton) represent a significant differential in billing costs
under our existing contract. Thus, the Department of Financial Management Services conducted an
analysis of these accounts to further explore options of contracting with each of the respective county tax-
assessors versus utilizing Tarrant County for this service. Details are below:
Out of County Accounts to be billed in FY2019: 10,178
Parcels within each jurisdiction:
Denton: 9,252
Parker: 843
Wise: 83
The Tax Assessor-Collector in all of the counties indicated a willingness to analyze and provide costs to
the City to transition these accounts to each of their respective entities for billing services. While no
contractual costs for these services could be confirmed, Denton County stated they currently provide
billing services to taxing units for $1.00 per parcel.
The per account costs for Denton County is beneficial for this analysis for two reasons:
1. As compared to what the City is paying to Tarrant County ($0.98 per account), the costs appear to
be consistent; and
2. If Denton County could provide these services for$1.00 per account, the City would save
approximately $14,803 per year for billing services.
Further exploration of moving billing services to Denton County will be conducted. It is important to also
consider the impact to the property owner in moving billing services. While each entity indicated they
could perform this function, almost all indicated it would require them to generate a separate bill. Thus,
property owners would receive multiple invoices for property taxes. While that may not represent a
substantial change to what occurs today, consideration will be given to any effects on the property owner
in a future recommendation.
If you have any questions, please call Aaron Bovos, Chief Financial Officer, at 817-392-8517
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
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