SERVICE E EFFICIENCY E ACCOUNTABILITY
Dear Residents,
I am pleased to share our latest accomplishments with you, all made possible through the hard work and first-class service provided every day by your Hall County Tax Department’s outstanding team of professionals. It is a privilege to work with this team and an honor to serve you.
Darla Eden
Tax Commissioner
SERVICE
We want every experience with the tax office to be a pleasant one, so we have created a customer-friendly culture completely focused on helping you. To provide first-class service, we cross-train and move staff as needed to areas that immediately give our residents responsive service, whether in person, on the phone or online.
We work for our residents – This is your tax office and we work for you. Everyone is greeted with a smile and attention given to their needs.
Information Desk – A dedicated customer service representative (CSR) at our entrance meets residents and looks over their documents to ensure all needed items are present to complete the desired transaction.
Save a Trip and Skip the Line – Launched the educational campaign Skip the Line to add a new level of convenience where local taxpayers can Save a Trip and Skip the Line for most transactions such as tag renewals and other tax payments. Learn more here.
Self Service Tag Renewal Kiosk – To serve residents after hours and on weekends, we installed a kiosk for motor vehicle renewals located at the Kroger Marketplace, Exit 24 off I-985/ on Jesse Jewell Pkwy and another at the Clearwater Crossing Kroger, 7380 Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch. With the renewal notice or tag number and a credit/debit card, most renewals can process in less than 60 seconds.
Upgrade to Tag Renewal Kiosks- During the fourth quarter of 2022, all kiosks will have updated features including EMV (Euro MasterCard Visa) debit/credit card chip readers, as well as a tactile device to assist visually impaired customers. With these new tactile devices, users will be able to navigate and process a transaction without using the touch screen. Customers will now be able to insert their card to read their chip, tap to pay, swipe to read the card, or tap using their mobile device’s stored credit card information.
When headphones are plugged into this piece of new hardware, the taxpayer will hear a more detailed version of our voice assistance to help guide them through processing a transaction. The taxpayer will also be able to adjust the volume level of the voice assistance in their headphones as well as adjust the speech rate.
Drive Up Drop Box – Located across the entrance to the Government Center, this secure drop box makes dropping off your vehicle tag renewal or property tax payment quick and easy.
DRIVES – Recent years have ushered in a new wave of technology for your Hall County Tax Commissioner office. Our motor vehicle division underwent a statewide systems conversion from GRATIS to DRIVES (Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System). DRIVES allows citizens access to do more in the comfort of their own homes rather than in the tag office. DRIVES offers the ability to renew, replace, cancel registrations / pre-apply and check title status / check title, lien and insurance / TAVT estimator / prestige and specialty tag availability / change address and GO-GREEN e-notification all at one website – eservices.drives.ga.gov.
Property Tax Statement Explained – Click Here for a better understanding of your property tax bill.
Communications – Many implementations have been made here in an effort to keep taxpayers informed and updated on the ever-changing property and motor vehicle laws.
Customer Care Communications Center – A newly developed communications center was implemented to accept phone calls, faxes, and emails. Feedback indicates this area has impressed residents with the dedication to personal service at this level in an effort to save a trip to our office.
Texting Service at 833-602-8497 – Our communications center quickly responds to text messages between 8 am and 5pm Monday – Friday.
Facebook and Twitter – Please check us out on social media to stay current on our office events, activities and undertakings.
Website – Content and added user functions are continuously evaluated and updated to keep all informed of important dates, what to bring, and current changes in the laws. Taxpayers are able to pay taxes by credit card.
Tax Statement Design – Tax statements were redesigned to be concise, more informative and useful. Color and graphs were added with explanations of key tax terms – all at a lower printing cost than previous years.
EFFICIENCY
Great customer service has to be supported by attention to detail in the operations of the office. Efforts across the board have been implemented and too many to mention here, so I will highlight a couple:
Cross Training – To serve our residents better, all CSRs are fully cross trained to process both motor vehicle and property tax transactions. Cross training eliminates dual lines and minimizes total wait time by keeping the lines moving quickly and efficiently.
Cooperation in the County – We have put processes in place to collaborate with other county offices and departments to share information and support each other’s goals and objectives to serve the taxpayer with greater efficiency.
Mobile Home Decals No Longer Required – Hall County mobile home owners are no longer required to place a decal on their mobile home, signifying their payment of property tax. This change is estimated to save Hall County $20,000 a year in product costs, postage and labor. Learn more here.
Appointment & Queuing System – We have implemented a taxpayer appointment and queuing system to streamline lobby management and enhance the taxpayer experience. The taxpayer benefits from our employees being ready to serve them with their planned and scheduled service in accordance with employee skill level required to complete a transaction. Additionally, managers can view wait times, add appointments as needed, check employee availability, move customers forward in the queue, save their spot in the queue, and get important customer details to personalize each transaction. The goal is to make every customer interaction as efficient and effective as possible.
Dealer Fleet Specialist – For our automobile dealers and businesses with fleet vehicles, a dedicated Tax Tag Specialist serves these customers at window 2 with great efficiency to meet the demands of their businesses and customers. Keeping these more complex and lengthy transactions separate from individual taxpayer transactions keeps our lines moving and wait times to a minimum.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Cash Management and Accountability – The financial stability of the county, cities and schools depends on efficient cash management and operations of our office.
Cash Management – Accounting operations of the tax office are conducted as required by the constitution in compliance with state laws.
Continued Collections – We strive to be fair and exercise effective collection procedures resulting in over 99 percent collection record in property tax. A snapshot:
More Ways to Pay – We offer numerous ways to pay tax: mail, online, office, phone, secure drop boxes (outside and inside our office) or self-service tag renewal kiosk.
Fraud Prevention – We have enacted several measures to ensure the prevention of fraud to help protect your money.
Due Date of Tax Statements Moved to November 15th – Many residents have stated that an earlier due date is preferred for property tax. Other tax commissioners who have moved their due date earlier report that their county board of commissioners are most appreciative of the effort. In the past, Hall County property tax bills were due Dec. 1. That date has been moved to Nov. 15 to be in line with residents’ preferences.