Department: Commissioner, Precinct 1
Department Head/Elected Official: Rodney Ellis
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for an update from the County Attorney's Office on the status of delinquent tax collections and the impact on property taxpayers.
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Background and Discussion:
Failure to resolve delinquent tax accounts quickly allows penalties and interest to balloon for property owners. From 1999 to 2023, the private law firm, Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, & Sampson, LLP. (Linebarger), collected delinquent property tax collections for Harris County. Linebarger's contract allowed for the collection of a 15% fee on top of the statutory required interest & penalties (1% interest per month & 6% to 12% penalty). When private firms collect delinquent taxes there is an incentive to delay resolution to collect higher penalties. In 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the County Attorney's Office (CAO) provided data to show that taxpayers pay an additional $8.6-$.9.3 million in fees above penalties and interest annually to Linebarger.
To reduce this burden several steps the Commissioners Court has taken the following steps:
* June 2021, the Commissioners Court approved the renewal of the delinquent tax collection contract with Linebarger, agreeing to a 15% penalty collection rate.
* May 2022- the Court approved a motion to develop a plan to move delinquent tax collections in house within 365 days. The Office of County Administration, County Attorney's Office, Office of Management and Budget and Tax-Assessor Collector were tasked to lead this plan development.
* Summer 2022 the County released a tax colle...
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