Posted 11:00 am Monday, September 27, 2010
Tax Hunters Ensure County Collects Delinquent Dues
By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer
Bill Webster is a hunter. His favorite prey is turkey. He enjoys “talking” to them for hours. It builds excitement during the hunt — and he's satisfied with that, whether he bags one or not, he said.
Staff Writer
Bill Webster is a hunter. His favorite prey is turkey. He enjoys “talking” to them for hours. It builds excitement during the hunt — and he's satisfied with that, whether he bags one or not, he said.
Hunting gobblers is a hobby for Webster, an escape, he said, sitting behind his desk, filled with neatly stacked paperwork and files, but in a sense, he reluctantly agrees, his day-job shares some similarities.
Webster is the Tyler office manager for Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson law firm, which seeks delinquent property taxes for 25 taxing entities in Smith County and more than 1,600 across the state.
The job requires one part puzzle solver, one part detective, one part negotiator and one part hunter. Dentists, night club owners, developers, attorneys and the everyman who fall behind on their date with the tax man have encountered him or someone from his office.
One way or the other, the hunt always ends the same: They pay.
“It's a challenge and its fun,” Webster said of hunting non-payers. “When it's done you feel like you've accomplished something and found the people and let them know what their responsibilities are.”
“It's a challenge and its fun,” Webster said of hunting non-payers. “When it's done you feel like you've accomplished something and found the people and let them know what their responsibilities are.”
A lot has changed in the office since Webster began. Accounts have transferred from paper copies to computer files. Advanced search tools help find people more quickly and easier. Property ownership is easier to track.
For all the advances that have taken the process “from horses to jets” it still takes people, Jim Lambeth said, good listeners and talkers, and perhaps a tax warrant or two to ensure Smith County entities get paid.
Lambeth, a tax attorney and partner in the office, said his staff does not take no for an answer.
For all the advances that have taken the process “from horses to jets” it still takes people, Jim Lambeth said, good listeners and talkers, and perhaps a tax warrant or two to ensure Smith County entities get paid.
Lambeth, a tax attorney and partner in the office, said his staff does not take no for an answer.
“There is no ‘N' or ‘O' in their vocabulary,” he said. “They only answer to ‘yes.'”
The office's staff, made up of four attorneys, legal assistants, office managers and clerks see that taxes due by the end of January are paid no matter how long it takes to collect. Attorneys become involved after May mail notices regarding unpaid taxes are turned over to the office.
Before July 1 the staff prepares lists of personal/business property delinquencies and on July 1 personal visits begin.
Personal/business property can be moved and it's the staff's responsibility to ensure assets, be it property, fixtures, furniture or inventory, do not leave the premises and are accounted for the upcoming tax bill.
To stop the movement of inventory or assets the office uses tax warrants which are served by the Smith County Sheriff's Department.
Recent business cycles have been difficult for a lot of companies and individual property owners, Lambeth said. Difficulties only delay the inevitable.
Lambeth said penalties and interest can add up. By July 1 a tax bill increases 33 percent due to penalties and interest, according to the tax assessor's office.
“There is a financial incentive to pay on time,” Lambeth said. “If they don't pay these taxes on time, there is a lean against their business, their real estate, their furniture, fixtures and inventory.”
All are subject to be sold if property taxes are not paid, he said. Lambeth said property seizures and sales are rare but that lawsuits are filed every day.
From July 1, 2008 through the end of June 2009 the county collected 101.4 percent of its tax levy, or more than $38 million, including penalties and interest, Lambeth said. This past year the county collected about $600,000 more or 101.7 percent of the levy, he said.
Lambeth said the poor economy has not, generally speaking, affected collections. He said foreclosures of national companies such as Circuit City slowed collections but represented minor bumps along the way.
Smith County taxpayers, he said, typically take responsibility for their taxes.
The office's staff, made up of four attorneys, legal assistants, office managers and clerks see that taxes due by the end of January are paid no matter how long it takes to collect. Attorneys become involved after May mail notices regarding unpaid taxes are turned over to the office.
Before July 1 the staff prepares lists of personal/business property delinquencies and on July 1 personal visits begin.
Personal/business property can be moved and it's the staff's responsibility to ensure assets, be it property, fixtures, furniture or inventory, do not leave the premises and are accounted for the upcoming tax bill.
To stop the movement of inventory or assets the office uses tax warrants which are served by the Smith County Sheriff's Department.
Recent business cycles have been difficult for a lot of companies and individual property owners, Lambeth said. Difficulties only delay the inevitable.
Lambeth said penalties and interest can add up. By July 1 a tax bill increases 33 percent due to penalties and interest, according to the tax assessor's office.
“There is a financial incentive to pay on time,” Lambeth said. “If they don't pay these taxes on time, there is a lean against their business, their real estate, their furniture, fixtures and inventory.”
All are subject to be sold if property taxes are not paid, he said. Lambeth said property seizures and sales are rare but that lawsuits are filed every day.
From July 1, 2008 through the end of June 2009 the county collected 101.4 percent of its tax levy, or more than $38 million, including penalties and interest, Lambeth said. This past year the county collected about $600,000 more or 101.7 percent of the levy, he said.
Lambeth said the poor economy has not, generally speaking, affected collections. He said foreclosures of national companies such as Circuit City slowed collections but represented minor bumps along the way.
Smith County taxpayers, he said, typically take responsibility for their taxes.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
People will do most anything to get out of paying taxes.
Webster said he has seen it all. Legal assistant Jo Ann Andrews, who has worked in the office since 1983, has heard it all.
“You're on the phone with all the sob stories. Oh my goodness the reasons why someone can't pay their taxes,” she said.
Sob stories are investigated by staffers including Ms. Andrews. If they have credence the office “works with” home or property owners, Lambeth said.
Lambeth said “lifetime events,” such as accidents and illnesses are always considered. He said people who qualify for hardship are set up on a payment plan according to their situation.
Most people resolve the debt, Lambeth said. Their situation improves, they sell, they find a job, or they receive disability and possibly a tax deferral on the account, he said.
Lambeth said regardless of situation, people want to be heard.
“The outcome is almost always the same — you still have to pay your taxes and there are no excuses, but the stories have to be heard,” he said.
Considering some of the cases involving the elderly, infirmed, veterans or mothers with small children who are barely making ends meet, owning “toys,” he said, will garner little pity from anyone in his office.
Invariably, Lambeth said, there are people who refuse to pay.
However, he said “we are in priority rearrangement business.” There are “perpetuals,” Ms. Andrews said, people who use excuses and refuse payment.
Lambeth, recalled a local attorney, who year after year would not pay his taxes until assets were seized and threatened by sale. Each year the man avoided the sale and paid his taxes, Lambeth said.
Despite the individual case, it takes listening, Ms. Andrews said, and some detective skills to put the pieces of a tax case together.
Puzzles, such as the Sally Starks account, which has been delinquent since 1990, are rare but time consuming. It's a difficult case because the tax office must serve all defendants in each case.
The estate dates to 1887. Over decades the property, 117 acres, has been bequeathed to the heirs of Sally Starks but no single person holds the title or has accepted responsibility for the taxes.
To date Ms. Andrews has identified and served 119 heirs in cities throughout the state. The county has prepared its case and is moving forward to collect more than $35,000 in back taxes by seizing 76 abandoned acres.
She said it takes many hours of research to track down living heirs and that the list of defendants can change, due to deaths or new discoveries, several times during the process.
The Starks' account is an extreme example of a common problem for heirs and the tax office.
“Typically you have maybe a dozen defendants but maybe one or two are interested in retaining the property but they can't gain title to it because the other heirs won't turn it over to them,” Ms. Andrews said.
If the land goes to auction it would be offered for the amount owed and left to bidders to raise the price, Lambeth said. The land's market value is more than $156,000.
Webster enjoys the oddities his work can present. When he is not duck, goose or turkey hunting, working with wood — building dollhouses, chairs and tables for his grandchildren or attending mission trips with 40-50 young people to roof houses for those in need, Webster spends his time searching for and coaxing tax-duckers into paying.
One night in a nightclub in Paris, Texas Webster, along with others, the local sheriff's department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents, helped the owner catch up on his delinquent taxes by letting the band play and the drinks flow. The take at the door and every bar register was monitored as Vince Vance and the Valiants played their entire set during a Valentine's Day show, he said.
Minus the band's fee, the night club's take at the door and bar covered most of the delinquency, Webster said.
In the end, Lambeth said, it is his office's responsibility, as the last resort, to collect the money which funds Smith County's schools, roads and other public services.
Lambeth said the staff and attorneys work with a broad spectrum of nonpayers, from major multinational corporations to individuals struggling to make ends meet.
“You've got to understand that we work for public entities,” Lambeth said. “The bottom line is the dollar and we've got to bring the money in. You've got to deal with everybody on the level which you find them.”
Webster said he has seen it all. Legal assistant Jo Ann Andrews, who has worked in the office since 1983, has heard it all.
“You're on the phone with all the sob stories. Oh my goodness the reasons why someone can't pay their taxes,” she said.
Sob stories are investigated by staffers including Ms. Andrews. If they have credence the office “works with” home or property owners, Lambeth said.
Lambeth said “lifetime events,” such as accidents and illnesses are always considered. He said people who qualify for hardship are set up on a payment plan according to their situation.
Most people resolve the debt, Lambeth said. Their situation improves, they sell, they find a job, or they receive disability and possibly a tax deferral on the account, he said.
Lambeth said regardless of situation, people want to be heard.
“The outcome is almost always the same — you still have to pay your taxes and there are no excuses, but the stories have to be heard,” he said.
Considering some of the cases involving the elderly, infirmed, veterans or mothers with small children who are barely making ends meet, owning “toys,” he said, will garner little pity from anyone in his office.
Invariably, Lambeth said, there are people who refuse to pay.
However, he said “we are in priority rearrangement business.” There are “perpetuals,” Ms. Andrews said, people who use excuses and refuse payment.
Lambeth, recalled a local attorney, who year after year would not pay his taxes until assets were seized and threatened by sale. Each year the man avoided the sale and paid his taxes, Lambeth said.
Despite the individual case, it takes listening, Ms. Andrews said, and some detective skills to put the pieces of a tax case together.
Puzzles, such as the Sally Starks account, which has been delinquent since 1990, are rare but time consuming. It's a difficult case because the tax office must serve all defendants in each case.
The estate dates to 1887. Over decades the property, 117 acres, has been bequeathed to the heirs of Sally Starks but no single person holds the title or has accepted responsibility for the taxes.
To date Ms. Andrews has identified and served 119 heirs in cities throughout the state. The county has prepared its case and is moving forward to collect more than $35,000 in back taxes by seizing 76 abandoned acres.
She said it takes many hours of research to track down living heirs and that the list of defendants can change, due to deaths or new discoveries, several times during the process.
The Starks' account is an extreme example of a common problem for heirs and the tax office.
“Typically you have maybe a dozen defendants but maybe one or two are interested in retaining the property but they can't gain title to it because the other heirs won't turn it over to them,” Ms. Andrews said.
If the land goes to auction it would be offered for the amount owed and left to bidders to raise the price, Lambeth said. The land's market value is more than $156,000.
Webster enjoys the oddities his work can present. When he is not duck, goose or turkey hunting, working with wood — building dollhouses, chairs and tables for his grandchildren or attending mission trips with 40-50 young people to roof houses for those in need, Webster spends his time searching for and coaxing tax-duckers into paying.
One night in a nightclub in Paris, Texas Webster, along with others, the local sheriff's department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents, helped the owner catch up on his delinquent taxes by letting the band play and the drinks flow. The take at the door and every bar register was monitored as Vince Vance and the Valiants played their entire set during a Valentine's Day show, he said.
Minus the band's fee, the night club's take at the door and bar covered most of the delinquency, Webster said.
In the end, Lambeth said, it is his office's responsibility, as the last resort, to collect the money which funds Smith County's schools, roads and other public services.
Lambeth said the staff and attorneys work with a broad spectrum of nonpayers, from major multinational corporations to individuals struggling to make ends meet.
“You've got to understand that we work for public entities,” Lambeth said. “The bottom line is the dollar and we've got to bring the money in. You've got to deal with everybody on the level which you find them.”
