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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 07-09-2026; 6-c - Review and Establishment of Oversight Responsibilities for the Orange County Tax Administrator 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: July 9, 2026 Action Agenda Item No. 6-c SUBJECT: Review and Establishment of Oversight Responsibilities for the Orange County Tax Administrator DEPARTMENT: County Manager ATTACHMENTS: INFORMATION CONTACT: 1) North Carolina General Statute Travis Myren, 919-245-2308 105-294 — Tax Assessor 2) North Carolina General Statute 105-349 — Tax Collector 3) UNC School of Government Article on Supervising the Tax Administrator PURPOSE: To review and establish oversight responsibilities for the Orange County Tax Administrator. These responsibilities will be used in pending recruitment materials and subsequently codified in the County's Personnel Ordinance and/or other policy documents. BACKGROUND: In May 2026, Board Chair Jean Hamilton requested through a petition that the Board review and consider taking action to exempt the Tax Administrator position from the County Personnel Ordinance and to establish a process for review and oversight by the Board of Commissioners. The County is currently in the process of developing recruitment materials for the next Tax Administrator, and those documents cannot be finalized until the question of oversight responsibility is resolved. If the Board reaches a decision at this July 9th meeting, the recruitment would be posted from July 13, 2026 through August 13, 2026, with candidate vetting and selection occurring in September 2026. Under North Carolina General Statutes 105-294 and 105-349 (attached), the Board of Commissioners is responsible for appointing a Tax Assessor and Tax Collector respectively. The law allows those positions to be held concurrently by a single person. Orange County has chosen to combine the two (2) roles in the position of Tax Administrator. Similar to the Board's appointment responsibility, the Board may also remove the Tax Administrator for good cause after providing that person with written notice and an opportunity to appear and be heard at a public session of the Board. Although the Statute is clear on the appointing authority of the Board, neither Statute suggests how those positions ought to be supervised. North Carolina General Statute 153A-82 authorizes the County Manager to "direct and supervise" all county offices, departments, boards and agencies subject to the "general control" of the governing board.As a result, the Tax Administrator 2 has historically been supervised by the County Manager by virtue of the Manager's general duties under State law. However, this default reporting relationship could be changed by amending the County's Personnel Ordinance to exempt the Tax Administrator from the Ordinance, making the position directly responsible to the Board of Commissioners. The Personnel Ordinance currently exempts members of the Board of Commissioners, County Attorney, County Manager, Clerk to the Board, members of advisory and special boards and commissions, and other subsets of employees in specific circumstances. The Tax Administrator could be added to this list of exemptions. The responsiblity to oversee any position or function encompasses a variety of different functions. These functions include planning and orgainizing work, setting priorities, directing and delegating work, monitoring and controlling outputs and outcomes (including evaluating performance), motiviating responsiveness and continuous improvement, developing skills, and resolving conflict. Counties throughout the State have chosen to divide these oversight functions differently between the Board of Commissioners and the County Manager. The UNC School of Government published a blog post in January 2024 (attached) that addresses some of the questions surrounding supervision of the Tax Administrator. The County's Human Resources Department also conducted a survey of North Carolina counties to determine how oversight and supervision is accomplished in other counties. The Department received eleven (11) complete responses as summarized below. Population Annual Approval of Work Day to Day 2020 Formal Reporting Performance and Supervision and Census . . operationalEvaluation Priorities Direction Alamance 171,415 County Manager County Manager County Manager County Manager County Alexander 36,444 County ManagerI County Manager County Manager County Manager County Chatham 76,285 Assistant County Assistant County Assistant County Assistant County County Manager Manager Manager Manager Cumberland 334,728 County Manager County Manager County Manager County Manager County Franklin 68,573 County Manager County Manager County Manager County Manager County with Board Input Gaston County 227,943 Deputy County None Deputy County Deputy County Manager Manager Manager Granville 60,992 County Manager County Manager County Manager County Manager County Iredell County 186,693 Deputy County Deputy County Deputy County Deputy County Manager Manager Manager Manager Board of Johnston 215,999 Commissioners Board of County Manager County Manager County and County Commissioners Manager Board of Person County 39,097 Commissioners County Manager County Manager County Manager and County Manager Pitt County 170,243 Board of County Manager County Manager with County Manager Commissioners with Board Input Board Input 3 and County Manager All of the counties that responded to the survey place responsibility for day to day supervision of the Tax Administrator with the County Manager, Assistant County Manager, or Deputy County Manager. Two (2) counties share responsibility for performance evaluations between the Board and County Manager, and one (1) County assigns responsibility for performance evaluations exclusively to the Board of Commissioners. Formal reporting responsibilities are similarly mixed with three (3) of the eleven (11) counties reporting shared responsibility and eight (8) counties designating the County Manager, Assistant County Manager, or Deputy County Manager as the formal supervisor of the Tax Administrator. The Board could choose from one or a combination of the following options for overseeing the Tax Administrator: 1. The Board could assume all oversight and supervisory responsiblity for the position including day to day supervision and the development and approval of an annual work plan and annual performance evaluation. 2. The Board of Commissioners could assume responsibility for annual work plan development and performance evaluation while assigning day to day operational supervision to the County Manager. 3. The County Manager could be responsible for day to day operational oversight and be required to seek input and approval from the Board on the Tax Administrator's annual work plan and performance evaluation. 4. The County Manager could be responsible for day to day operational oversight and provide the Board with the Tax Administrator's annual work plan and performance evaluation for informational purposes only. 5. The County Manager could be responsible for day to day operational oversight, the annual work plan and annual performance evaluation without Board input or information. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The assignment of oversight responsbility for the Tax Administrator has no financial impact. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports all of the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan as reliable and trusted tax values are fundamental in supporting all operations of County government. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board establish oversight responsibilities for the Orange County Tax Administrator that can be used in recruitment materials and subsequently codified in the County's Personnel Ordinance and/or other official policy documents. 4 Article 16. County Listing, Appraisal, and Assessing Officials. § 105-294. County assessor. (a) Appointment. — Persons occupying the position of county assessor on July 1, 1983, shall continue in office until the first Monday in July, 1983. At its first regular meeting in July, 1983, and every two years or four years thereafter, as appropriate, the board of county commissioners of each county shall appoint a county assessor to serve a term of not less than two nor more than four years; provided, however, that no person shall be eligible for initial appointment to a term of more than two years unless such person is deemed to be qualified as provided in subsection (b) of this section or has been certified by the Department of Revenue as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The board of commissioners may remove the assessor from office during his term for good cause after giving him notice in writing and an opportunity to appear and be heard at a public session of the board. Whenever a vacancy occurs in this office, the board of county commissioners shall appoint a qualified person to serve as county assessor for the period of the unexpired term. (b) Persons who held the position of assessor on July 1, 1971, and continue to hold the position, and persons who have been certified for appointment as assessor by the Department of Revenue between July 1, 1971, and July 1, 1983, are deemed to be qualified to serve as county assessor. Any other person selected to serve as county assessor must meet the following requirements: (1) Be at least 21 years of age as of the date of appointment; (2) Hold a high school diploma or certificate of equivalency, or in the alternative, have five years employment experience in a vocation which is reasonably related to the duties of a county assessor; (3) Within two years of the date of appointment, achieve a passing score in courses of instruction approved by the Department of Revenue covering the following topics: a. The laws of North Carolina governing the listing, appraisal, and assessment of property for taxation; b. The theory and practice of estimating the fair market value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes; C. The theory and practice of estimating the fair market value of personal property for ad valorem tax purposes; and d. Property assessment administration. (4) Upon completion of the required four courses, achieve a passing grade in a comprehensive examination in property tax administration conducted by the Department of Revenue. (c) Certification. — Persons meeting all of the requirements of this section shall be certified by the Department of Revenue. From the date of appointment until the date of certification, persons appointed to serve as county assessor are deemed to be serving in an acting capacity. Any person who fails to qualify within two years after the date of initial appointment shall not be eligible for reappointment until all of the requirements have been met. (d) In order to retain the position of county assessor, every person serving as county assessor, including those persons deemed to be qualified under the provisions of this act, shall, in each period of 24 months, attend at least 30 hours of instruction in the appraisal or assessment of property as provided in regulations of the Department of Revenue. (e) The compensation and expenses of the county assessor shall be determined by the board of county commissioners. G.S. 105-294 Page 1 5 (f) Alternative to separate office of county assessor. — Pursuant to Act [Article] VI, Section 9 of the North Carolina Constitution, the office of county assessor is hereby declared to be an office that may be held concurrently with any other appointive or elective office except that of member of the board of county commissioners. (1939, c. 310, ss. 400, 401; 1953, c. 970, ss. 1, 2; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; 1983, c. 813, s. 2; 1987, c. 45, ss. 1, 2; 1997-23, s. 5.) G.S. 105-294 Page 2 6 Article 26. Collection and Foreclosure of Taxes. § 105-349. Appointment, term, qualifications, and bond of tax collectors and deputies. (a) Appointment and Term. — The governing body of each county and municipality shall appoint a tax collector on or before July 1, 1971, to serve for a term to be determined by the appointing body and until his successor has been appointed and qualified. Until the first such appointments are made, county and municipal taxes shall be collected by the tax collectors presently serving under prior provisions of law. The governing body may remove the tax collector from office during his term for good cause after giving him notice in writing and an opportunity to appear and be heard at a public session of the governing body. No hearing shall be required, however, if the tax collector is removed for failing to meet the prerequisites prescribed by G.S. 105-352(b) for delivery of the tax receipts. Unless otherwise provided by G.S. 105-373, whenever any vacancy occurs in this office, the governing body shall appoint a qualified person to serve as tax collector for the period of the unexpired term. (b) Qualifications. — The governing body shall appoint as tax collector a person of character and integrity whose experience in business and collection work is satisfactory to the governing body. (c) Bond. — No tax collector shall be allowed to begin his duties until he shall have furnished bond conditioned upon his honesty and faithful performance in such amount as the governing body may prescribe. A tax collector shall not be permitted to collect any taxes not covered by his bond, nor shall a tax collector be permitted to continue collecting taxes after his bond has expired without renewal. (d) Compensation. — The compensation and expense allowances of the tax collector shall be fixed by the governing body. (e) Alternative to Separate Office of Tax Collector. — Pursuant to Article VI, Sec. 9, of the North Carolina Constitution, the office of tax collector is hereby declared to be an office that may be held concurrently with any appointive or elective office other than those hereinafter designated, and the governing body may appoint as tax collector any appointive or elective officer who meets the personal and bonding requirements established by this section. A member of the governing body of a taxing unit may not be appointed tax collector, nor may the duties of the office be conferred upon him. A person appointed or elected as the treasurer or chief accounting officer of a taxing unit may not be appointed tax collector, nor may the duties of the office of tax collector be conferred upon him except with the written permission of the secretary of the Local Government Commission who, before giving his permission, shall satisfy himself that the unit's internal control procedures are sufficient to prevent improper handling of public funds. (f) Deputy Tax Collectors. — The governing body of a county or municipality is authorized to appoint one or more deputy tax collectors and to establish their terms of office, compensation, and bonding requirements. A deputy tax collector shall have authority to perform, under the direction of the tax collector, any act that the tax collector may perform unless the governing body appointing the deputy specifically limits the scope of the deputy's authority. (g) Oath. —Every tax collector and deputy tax collector, as the holder of an office, shall take the oath required by Article VI, § 7 of the North Carolina Constitution with the following phrase added to it: "that I will not allow my actions as tax collector to be influenced by personal or political friendships or obligations,". The oath must be filed with the clerk of the governing body of the taxing unit. (1939, c. 310, ss. 1701, 1702; 1957, c. 537; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1991, c. I10, s. 6; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1007, s. 23.) G.S. 105-349 Page I 6/24/26,9:56 AM Supervising the Tax Office—Coates'Canons 7 Accessibility Coates' Canons NORTH CAROLINA LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW BLOG January 23, 2024 Supervising the Tax Office Chris McLaughlin The Machinery Act makes it clear that the "governing board" (aka the board of county commissioners or the city council) has the sole authority to appoint and remove both assessors and tax collectors. GS 105-294 and -349. But the statutes are silent as to the regular supervision of local tax officials. To whom may assessors and collectors be required to report on a regular basis? How much control may a supervisor exert over decisions made by tax officials? This blog examines some of the legal and practical issues involved in these types of questions. May the board require that the assessor and tax collector report to the manager? Yes. The governing board cannot delegate its authority to appoint or remove an assessor or collector because that authority is expressly granted to the board and only the board by statute. (See this blog post for more on situations in which the authority to act rests exclusively with a local governing board.) But the Machinery Act does not require the board to engage in direct supervision of these appointed tax officials. And the statutes that govern managers' duties (GS 153A-82 (counties) and GS 160A-148 (cities)) authorize managers to "direct and supervise" all county or city offices, departments, boards and agencies subject to the "general control" of the governing board. As a result, the board can (and probably should, in larger governments) delegate the regular supervision of the assessor and tax collector to the manager. I think that a manager may further delegate the supervision of the tax office to an assistant manager. Admittedly, no statute directly answers this question. But this common approach is almost certainly acceptable because the manager https://canons.sog.u nc.edu/blog/2024/01/23/supervisi ng-the-tax-office/ 1/4 6/24/26,9:56 AM Supervising the Tax Office—Coates'Canons supervises their assistants and therefore would be indirectly supervising the tax office. Who sets the salaries for the assessor and the tax collector? The Machinery Act expressly grants the governing board the authority to set compensation for these two appointed officials in GS lOS-294 and -349. But this simply means that the board must make the final decision. The manager can have a large say in these decisions by recommending to the board initial salary levels and annual increases/decreases for the assessor and collector. May supervisors require the assessor or collector to engage in tasks that are not listed in the statutes that define the obligations for those two positions? Yes. GS 105-296 lists at least ten specific duties for the assessor, while GS 105-350 lists nine for the collector. But neither of those lists should be viewed as exclusive. Basically, the Machinery Act sets the floor for the qualifications and duties of assessors and collectors. Governing boards (or managers, with the blessing of their boards) are free to raise that floor by adding additional expectations to those jobs. Ideally those expectations should be communicated clearly and in a timely fashion so that there are no surprises for either the board or the appointees. Assessors and collectors can be required to follow general employment rules and regulations for their local governments including vacation and timesheet policies, performance reviews, and organizational training obligations. The board can also add position-specific requirements not listed in the Machinery Act. For example, a board could require that a new tax collector become certified by the NCTCA within a certain time period, even though such certification is not required by statute. Or the board could require the assessor to conduct a certain number of public appearances with community groups to explain the reappraisal process. May supervisors control specific tax administration decisions made by the assessor and collector? https://canons.sog.u nc.edu/blog/2024/01/23/supervisi ng-the-tax-office/ 2/4 6/24/26,9:56 AM Supervising the Tax Office—Coates'Canons As a starting point for this discussion, it is important to distinguish between 9 statutory obligations of the assessor and collector and discretionary decisions available to those officials. Supervisors, be they governing boards or managers, have no right to demand that assessors or collectors violate a statutory obligation. But supervisors do possess the authority to direct assessors and collectors how to exercise discretion granted to them under the Machinery Act. Consider an obviously egregious example of supervisory overreach concerning the assessor's statutory obligation to appraise property at its "true value in money" created by GS 105-283. Assume that the manager demands that the assessor reduce the tax appraisal of property owned by the manager's brother by 50%. Unless the assessor learns of facts that justify such a reduction, the assessor should of course refuse to comply with the manager's demand. Saying "no" to the manager might lead to a messy situation for the assessor. The manager could urge the board to fire the assessor for failure to comply with her demands. But if that matter were litigated, it seems certain that a court would side with the assessor and conclude that the refusal to comply with an order to violate the Machinery Act would not constitute the necessary "good cause" to remove an assessor in the middle of their term. Compare that to a scenario that was recently discussed on the Ptax listsery 'pin here if you aren't already a subscriber): must the collector comply with a request from the board to provide a list of properties scheduled for foreclosure before those files are handed over to the foreclosure attorney? What if the board then directs the collector not to pursue foreclosure against some of those properties? I think the collector would be obligated to comply with these orders. They concern the tax collector's discretion, not a statutory duty. While the Machinery Act creates an obligation for the collector to use "all lawful means" to collect taxes with which they are charged (GS 105-350(1)), the Machinery Act does not mandate exactly when and how specific collection remedies must be employed. The board can direct the collector when to use foreclosure and other remedies and when not to do so, because these decisions are discretionary. The board (or the manager, again with the board's approval) has the authority to direct the collector how to exercise this discretion. To be clear, there are good reasons for elected officials to remove themselves from collection decisions. The use of any enforced collection remedy should be based on objective, equitable standards, not on personal relationships. The risk of https://canons.sog.u nc.edu/blog/2024/01/23/supervisi ng-the-tax-office/ 3/4 6/24/26,9:56 AM Supervising the Tax Office—Coates'Canons inequitable or discriminatory enforcement greatly increases if foreclosure 10 decisions are made on subjective grounds ("Don't foreclose on my Aunt Edna, she's a good woman and really trying her best to make ends meet."). What's more, such interference by supervisors would rightly drive away qualified tax officials. Who wants to work in an environment where their every action is micromanaged? When asked about this issue on Ptax, the responses suggest that most tax officials work for elected officials who respect their professional judgment. A majority of collectors reported that they do not seek approval from their boards before moving forward with foreclosures. That said, many collectors mentioned their concerns for transparency and said that of course they would provide lists of potential foreclosures if requested by their boards. Others described situations in which they gave advance notice to the board concerning a collection action that was likely to get noticed by the press or cause a stir because of the taxpayer involved. No collector reported that their board made the final decisions on every foreclosure. Regardless, if your board decides it wants to control decisions about foreclosures and similar discretionary tax actions, then I think you must comply or begin considering other employment options. (I hear the Carolina Panthers are hiring.) https://canons.sog.u nc.edu/blog/2024/01/23/supervisi ng-the-tax-office/ 4/4