Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister announced today the Board of Commissioners will seek a Temporary Collection Order (TCO) for collection of 2009 property taxes.According to Bannister, this action, which is provided for in state law, will be filed in Gwinnett Superior Court and is most likely the speediest way to get bills to taxpayers so that local governments can begin to receive needed revenues. The decision to file a TCO petition was finalized today.
Bannister said, “Tax billing has been tangled in the ongoing SDS dispute. Other options run the very real risk of inviting actions that could take several more weeks or longer to resolve. We think this action strategy will get the billing process going for 2009. All of us – the County, the cities and especially the schools – need tax revenues to meet payrolls and other obligations.”
Administratively there are downsides to the TCO. “A TCO is, as the name implies, temporary. Ultimately there will be the need for some type of final accounting, which could happen in November or December, we just don’t know right now” said County Administrator Jock Connell. “This will present administrative concerns and questions for our finance staff and especially the tax commissioner.”
Bannister stated that whichever judge gets the case will decide the details, but that the county would recommend using the 2009 property values as the basis for the billing.
Details on the billing calendar will not be available until after the TCO hearing; meanwhile, County staff has begun consultations with the tax commissioner. The County intends to file a TCO petition as quickly as possible.
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