Revenue Department Earns National Award for Innovative Business Practices, Customer Service

6/16/2005

The Wake County Revenue Department has won a 2005 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties for using technology and better business practices to provide excellent customer service, collect more money and operate more efficiently.

Using technology and best business practices, the Revenue Department has lived true to the adage of "doing more with less." The department has not added any employees since 1995, though 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 (totaling 600,000), and new businesses have been added at the rate of 1,200 per year.

Additionally, since the system was put in place, the county increased its collection rate to 98.88% in 2004, the highest for any urban county in North Carolina. That's up from 98.31% in 2003, and translates into $2 million in additional revenue.

"Revenue Department staff are to be commended for embracing Wake County's values of providing the highest level of service to citizens while working as efficiently and effectively as possible," Commissioners' Chair Joe Bryan said. He also praised the county's technology department, Information Services, for its key role in the program's success.

In recent years, the department has implemented an innovative software billing and collections system, cross-trained its employees and offered more Internet and telephone transactions for easier customer access to services.

"This is a significant improvement and a tremendous service to citizens," Bryan said. "Having an equitable collection system in place not only ensures that all citizens and businesses are treated fairly, but it provides revenue that is essential to county operations in times of tight budgets and challenging demands created by growth."

The NACo Achievement Awards Program was started in 1970 to recognize innovative county government programs. NACo is based in Washington, D.C., and represents more than 2,000 counties nationwide with legislative, research, technical, public affairs and other assistance.

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