A Message From Anne M. Gannon, Constitutional Tax Collector, serving Palm Beach County
Thank you for taking time to review our 2021-22 Report To Our Citizens. I am very proud of the work our agency accomplished and the results that were delivered to the residents of Palm Beach County.
Each year, we take pride in providing you with a snapshot of the previous fiscal year’s results and this year, I am especially proud of how our office continues to provide unparalleled service that inspires trust and our commitment to be exceptional.
In early 2022, we opened our newest state-of-the-art service center in Westlake where we provide in-person service to more than 8,000 clients each month!
With the convenience of online transactions, we experienced nearly a 35% increase in the number of online transaction year-over-year, with motor vehicles transactions being the most popular.
Maintaining a wealth of important information on our website, www.pbctax.com, we continue to make enhancements to help our residents find the information they need easily and quickly. As a result of our focus on our website content, we experienced nearly a 12% reduction in the number of phone calls and emails into our Client Care & Research Center.
For those times when our residents needed to come into one of our six service centers, we made strides in optimizing our reservation system and adding additional staff, which led to a 31% increase in reservations scheduled across all of our locations.
About the Constitutional Tax Collector
I am so proud that our agency was recognized with several communication awards for outstanding publications, such as our annual Tax Planner & Services Guides. In addition, we received an award for our excellence in financial operations, which is no easy feat when managing more than $4 billion in tax monies. That focus on our finances was instrumental in our ability to return $50,392,186 in unexpended revenues back to the taxing authorities to help pay for the many services for Palm Beach County residents.
It is my hope that the information contained in this report will provide you with greater insight into the services our agency provides. Should you have any questions, please contact us by email at clientadvocate@pbctax.com or by phone at 561-355-4271. Don’t forget to visit our website, www.pbctax.com and follow us on Facebook @PBCTAX and Instagram @TAXPBC.
I greatly appreciate the trust and confidence you have in me, and our staff. I am honored to serve as your Constitutional Tax Collector and my staff, and I look forward to serving you in the future.
Anne M. Gannon
Constitutional Tax Collector serving Palm Beach County.
The Florida Constitution established the Tax Collector’s Office as an independent agency in 1885, so it would be free from influence by local or state agencies that have the power to levy taxes. The Tax Collector is elected to a 4-year term in the same year as the presidential election.
The Tax Collector’s Office is not funded by tax dollars. It is a fee-based office, which means, the fees collected for the services provided are used to fund the operating budget that is approved by the Florida Department of Revenue. Any revenue from fees collected beyond the amount needed to fund the office is returned to the local government agencies, including the county.
Anne M. Gannon is the first woman elected to the office of the Constitutional Tax Collector serving Palm Beach County. First elected by an overwhelming majority in 2006, she was re-elected in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.
Other constitutional officers serving Palm Beach County include the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, and Supervisor of Elections.
Distributions & Commissions
DISTRIBUTIONS TO TAXING AUTHORITIES FY 2021-22
During the 2022 property tax cycle, the Constitutional Tax Collector’s Office collected over $4.4 billion in property taxes and fees.
This revenue was then efficiently distributed to Palm Beach County’s taxing authorities to fund critical public services.
Revenue from property taxes pays for county and municipal services, critical health and human services including the Healthcare District and Children’s Services, the school district, fire departments, libraries, parks, and additional services critical to the operation of our county.
COMMISSIONS AND FEES RECEIVED FY 2021-22
The Tax Collector’s Office is an independent agency funded by commissions and fees on the services provided and is not funded by tax dollars.
Each year, the Florida Department of Revenue reviews and approves the operating budget for the Tax Collector’s Office. As a result of cost-effective operations, unexpended revenue is returned to local taxing authorities in Palm Beach County.
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$27,899,156 City Fire $31,598,288 Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park $54,133,953 Improvement Districts $65,930,612 Library/Library Debt $133,480,066 Children’s Services $155,494,907 Healthcare District $1,553,458,301 School Board $1,947,395 Agriculture $6,852,756 Florida Inland Navigation District $20,652,725 Development Districts $1,028,634,936 Palm Beach County $731,468,710 Municipalities $342,435,582 Waste/Water/Utilities $322,493,833 Fire/Municipal Services Taxing Unit $15,546 Investment Income $18,277 County Vessels $453,823 Miscellaneous Revenue $1,021,135 Business Tax Receipts $1,167,257 Tourist Development Tax $3,291,667 Individual Certificate Sale $8,350,797 State of Florida $72,241,955 Property Tax $86,560,457 Total Commissions and Fees $36,168,271 Less Operating Expenses $50,392,186 Unexpended Revenue Returned to Taxing Authorities
Total Distributions to Taxing Authorities
$4,476,481,220
Mail FY 2021-22
The Tax Collector’s Office added a new mail processing machine that reduces manual preparation work by staff and improves efficiency by processing 16,000 envelopes per hour…that is four mail pieces per second! As a result, manually processed mail is only 15% of mail received.
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Snapshot FY 2021-22 VS. FY 2020-21
PROCESSED TRANSACTIONS INCOMING MAIL PIECES CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION OUTGOING MAIL PIECES BY SERVICE TYPE 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Online Website Visits Outgoing Mail Call Volume Email Inquiries In-Person/ Service Centers Incoming Mail Total FY 2021-22: 2,208,253 Total FY 2021-22: 4,211,516 Total FY 2020-21: 2,544,546 Total FY 2020-21: 5,042,270 988,925 719,124 500,204 732,178 724,509 1,087,859 1,982,609 1,961,912 234,323 32,672 2,766,043 1,973,571 259,963 42,693 Total 1,961,912 114,790 Local Business Tax 74,852 Processed via Manual Process 23,567 Disabled Person 7,776 Other 16,823 Tangible Property Tax 13,019 Mobile Home Decals 790,929 Property Tax 425,352 Processed via Automation 995,008 Motor Vehicles Total 500,204
Client Care & Research Center
The Client Care and Research Center (CCRC) offers assistance both via email and over the phone. As more clients utilize our website to find information, incoming calls have decreased by 12%. Each call lasts an average of four minutes, and emails sent to our dedicated ClientAdvocate@pbctax.com address are responded to within three days.
If you or someone you know excels in providing customer service and is seeking a predictable Monday through Friday schedule with weekends and holidays off, consider joining our dynamic CCRC team! Visit www.pbctax.com/culture-and-careers.
Installment Payment Plan
The Installment Payment Plan (IPP) provides clients the predictability of budgeted, quarterly payments for real estate property and tangible personal property taxes, rather than paying one lump sum. Each year, the IPP enrollment period opens November 1 and closes April 30, and our office accepts applications online or by mail. Once enrolled, there is no need to reapply; clients remain on the plan unless they request to be withdrawn or miss the first payment.
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NEW INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLAN APPLICATIONS CALL VOLUME BY SERVICE TYPE FY 2021-22 EMAIL VOLUME BY SERVICE TYPE FY 2021-22 Online Applications Paper Applications 4,903 1,505 3,123 11,849 8,916 Motor Vehicles 12,433 Property Tax 3,377 Driver License/ State ID 3,538 Local Business Tax 1,344 Tourist Development Tax 3,064 Others 8,836 Local Business Tax 113,500 Driver License/State ID 73,727 Motor Vehicles 64 Other 38,196 Property Tax Total 234,323 Total 32,672 FY 2021-22 FY 2020-21
Service Centers
SELF/SERVICE KIOSKS
In January 2021, Tax Collector Gannon introduced five MV-Express self-service kiosks throughout Palm Beach County, located in Publix stores. Offering clients the convenience of renewing their motor vehicle registration and receiving the renewal decal in minutes, the ATM-style kiosks’ popularity grew through word-of-mouth and targeted social media campaigns. For more details and current kiosk locations, visit www.pbctax.com/kiosks.
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TOTAL SERVICE CENTER TRANSACTIONS FY 2021-22: Motor Vehicle: 395,617
4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 OctoberNovemberDecember JanuaryFebruary March April May June July AugustSeptember Total Self-Service Kiosk Transactions 2021 2021/22 Total FY 2021-22: 38,519 Belle Glade Total: 52,518 Downtown West Palm Beach Total: 79,079 Royal Palm Beach /Westlake Total: 104,000 North County Palm Beach Gardens Total: 128,107 Central Palm Beach Greenacres Total: 198,070 South County Delray Beach Total: 139,350 19,396 30,369 38,628 48,463 29,164 43,489 60,997 71,640 3,577 381 3,820 1,401 2,903 1,472 5,954 2,050 58,721 72,241 6,658 1,730 72,318 118,086 5,664 2,002
License/ID: 267,895
Property Tax: 28,576
Business Tax: 9,036
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RESERVATIONS SCHEDULED Reservations Scheduled 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0
County
Downtown
Belle
SCHEDULED “NO SHOW” Total Res. Scheduled: 668,176 Total “No-Show” Res.: 219,685 21,488 52,626 92,165 90,452 119,431 142,869 27,640 35,874 53,366 44,112 37,205 170,633
South
Delray Beach Central Palm Beach Greenacres North County Palm Beach Gardens Royal Palm Beach/ Westlake
West Palm Beach
Glade
WEBSITE VISITORS BY DEVICE
DID YOU KNOW?
Constitutional Tax Collector Anne M. Gannon offers a monthly electronic newletter, Tax Talk, to keep residents up to date with the latest news regarding services, important deadline reminders and informational updates. Every month, more than 549,000 issues of Tax Talk are emailed out and another 248,000 residents receive through their community’s monthly newsletter.
To receive your monthly newsletter, visit www.pbctax.com/taxtalk/.
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FY 2021-22 FY 2020-21 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 987,090 988,805 943,653 839,265 46,144 52,769 MOST VISITED WEBPAGES FY 2021-22 FY 2020-21 Mobile Computer Tablet Homepage 2,509,490 1,413,108 428,051 372,148 368,248 324,020 379,563 422,162 297,433 2,462,298 1,446,864 Reservations New location Westlake Motor Vehicle Driver License Renew Registration
WEBSITE VISITS ONLINE TRANSACTIONS
DID YOU KNOW? As online transactions increase, in-person transactions in our service centers are decreasing. In 2021/22 Motor Vehicle transactions showed a 30% increase.
SOCIAL MEDIA FY 2021-22
Facebook @PBCTAX Facebook @TAXPBC
Followers Gained 83 People views
Followers Gained 43
People views
26,660
7,846
Clients connect with the Constitutional Tax Collector’s Office via the platforms of their choice. Content posted on Instagram and Facebook is created to inform and engage clients. Followers on our social media platforms receive content regarding services, deadline reminders, and informational updates.
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3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 2,766,043 1,982,609 0 35,921 Tourist Development Tax 45,194 Local Business Tax 667,475 Motor Vehicles 235,797 Property Tax 3,908 Tangible Property Tax Total 988,295
Tax Collections
PROPERTY TAX DELINQUENCIES 2021-22
The Property Tax payment cycle is November 1 – March 31. Property tax is delinquent on April 1 and is subject to penalties and interest. It is vital to collect unpaid taxes as Taxing Authorities are dependent on these funds.
On June 1, the Tax Collector’s Office is required by law to hold an annual tax certificate sale to collect unpaid property taxes and associated fees. Investors pay the tax debt by purchasing tax certificates.
If the property owner fails to pay the delinquent taxes within two years, the tax certificate holder may file a Tax Deed Application (TDA) to start the process of the property being sold at a tax deed sale. The property owner may retain the property by redeeming the TDA any time before the property is sold at the tax deed sale.
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX FY 2021-22
LOCAL BUSINESS TAX RECEIPTS (LBTR) COLLECTIONS
The Field Services division of the Legal Department assists business owners with matters regarding their Business Tax Receipt. Past-due business tax receipt accounts are assessed a delinquent fee each February, which results in an increase of revenue as our team assists clients with bringing their accounts into compliance.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Legal Department of the Constitutional Tax Collector’s Office received and responded to more than 360 public records requests in 2021-22.
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$12,000,000 $10,000,000 $8,000,000 $6,000,000 $4,000,000 $2,000,000 Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Total FY 2021-22: $1,181,094 Total FY 2021-22: $77,801,811 $350,000 $300,000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 Oct. 2021 Nov. Dec. Jan. 2022 Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. $0 3,843 Paid late 14,460 Certificates Sold *125 Properties delinquent from 2019 and earlier property taxes. Total 18,850 247 Unsold and issued to county
Our Employees
TOTAL EMPLOYESS BY TENURE
TOTAL: 322
25+
Years
RECOGNITION
Each year, the agency is recognized nationally as an industry leader. Often competing against other governmental agencies of all sizes, including federal, state and local organizations. We are proud to be recognized for our distinguished accomplishments.
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT for Financial Operations.
SILVER CIRCLE AWARD FOR 2022 Tax Planner and Services Guide.
BERNAYS AWARD 2021 MV-Express Vehicle Registration.
OUR CHARITABLE GIVING
In FY 2021-22, our employees donated a total of $17,594 to two charity partners Living Hungry and Making Every Day Count. To learn more about our culture of giving, visit www.pbctax.com/about-us.
AMERICAN INHOUSE DESIGN AWARD 2022 Tax Planner and Services Guide, 2021/2022 Annual Report
RADIANCE AWARD
Best Annual Report, Redesign MV Express Kiosk Marketing Campaign.
DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Best Redesigns, Annual Report
APEX Awards for Publications Excellence MarCom Awards
AWARD OF EXELLENCE Gold Award Print Media, Publications Annual Report.
Living Hungry
Works to eliminate food insecurity for local homeless children. Employees contributed $8,272 and more than 2,500 pairs of socks and 452 hygiene kits to the Delray Beach-based not-forprofit organization.
Making Every Day Count Works to raise funds to benefit the Palm Beach County Family and Delinquency Drug Courts program, which can give families and youth affected by addition a second chance. The TCO team raised $9,322 for this cause.
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15 to 24 Years 10 to 14 years Fewer than 5 years 5 to 9 Years 153 63 43 38 25 Florida
Association 3CMA Savvy Award
Graphic
In addition to these two charities, TCO employees raised more than $2,400 to assist our Tax Collector colleagues in both Lee and Charlotte Counties, who were impacted by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. National
Tax Collectors
Gold Coast Public Relations Council
Design USA (GDUSA)
Association of Government Communicators
PRSA Sunshine District
MV Express Kiosk Vehicle Registration, Vietnam War Veteran Commemorative Lapel Pin Campaign, Annual Report 2019/20 redesign
BLUE PENCIL AND GOLD SCREEN AWARD
www.pbctax.com Email: ClientAdvocate@pbctax.com Phone: (561) 355-2264 Fax: (561) 355-4123 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3715, West Palm Beach, FL 33402-3715 Instagram @TAXPBC facebook @PBCTAX /company/taxpbc @TaxCollectorPBC CONTACT US CREATIVITY ACCOUNTABILITY COMMUNICATION FUN DIVERSITY FISCAL RESPONSABILITY INTEGRITY OUR VALUES OUR VISION: EXCEPTIONAL OUR MISSION: To provide unparalleled service that inspires trust. LEARNING TEAMWORK
