Dauphin County Tax Collection Committee Rick Vensel Operations

Dauphin County Tax Collection Committee Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

New Government Entity – TCC • Dauphin County TCC is new government entity • Requires immediate school district and municipality attention – now; not later! • TCC process ØTCC first stage: 2+ years – 2009 -11 – TCC organization and basic tax collection decisions ØTCC second stage: forever – oversight of ongoing tax collection Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

Dauphin County TCC • Represents 52 members • 41 Municipalities, 11 School Districts • 2 Counties – All of Dauphin County (except Reed Township) – 2 Schuylkill County municipalities (Porter Township, Tower City) • Presently represented by 5 Tax collectors (Berkheimer, Capital Tax Collection Bureau, Derry Township Tax Collection, Lancaster Tax Collection Bureau, Upper Dauphin Area Tax Collection Bureau) Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

Applicable Statutes • • • Act 32 Ethics Act State Adverse Interest Act Sunshine Law Right-to-Know Law Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Advance Planning NOW • Taxing authorities should begin advance planning for TCC – now: Ø Form planning group Collect/summarize tax facts Ø Governance/first meeting/chairperson selection/other initial decisions • Taxing authorities should appoint TCC voting delegates and alternates – now • Understanding basic TCC steps important for two reasons: Ø Know what needs to be done/start planning Ø Think about who will ensure things are done – does TCC need an employee? Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage – Year #1 – 2009/2010 October/ November 2009 (November 15 deadline for first meeting) • TCC first meeting Ø County Commissioner Chair or designee convene meeting – no official further County role after officer election Ø Must elect Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Open Records Officer (and possibly other officers) Ø Should appoint legal counsel Ø Should ad Ø opt bylaws – if possible based on advance planning – Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage After officer election and bylaw adoption/ before tax collector appointment • TCC takes the following steps: Ø TCC management structure decisions Ø Collection method Ø Independent third party Ø For Profit collectors Ø Tax collection bureau Ø Create a Dauphin County Tax Collection Bureau Ø Multi County Collection Ø Independent third party Ø Tax collection bureau Ø TCC finance decisions v TCC auditor v TCC bank v TCC budget – operating costs TCC operating cost financing mechanism – v TCC tax collection cost allocation plan – Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage After officer election and bylaw adoption/ before tax collector appointment Ø Decision on single-county or multi -county TCC Ø Study income tax collection options/decision on tax bureau vs. independent third party collector Ø TCC insurance decisions Ø Decision on TCC jurisdiction over LST and other taxes Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage June 1, 2010 Deadline to appoint tax appeal board Ø Appoint new tax appeal board Ø Adopt mandatory and other policies v. Right-to-Know records policy – appoint Open Records Officer (priority 2009) v. Investment policy v. Tax records policy v. Tax collector investment income distribution policy v. Tax collector unidentified funds rules v. Regulations, policies, and procedures for tax administration Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Finance – Operating Costs Ø No TCC expense payments until budget adopted (unless paid by one or more taxing authorities, IU, or County – with expectation of TCC reimbursement) Ø TCC will have operating costs – separate from EIT collection cost Ø Such operating costs to be shared by the SDs and munis within the TCD in proportion to EIT revenue (different from weighted voting – population not considered) Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage Sept 15, 2010 Deadline to appoint new Act 32 tax collector critical date Ø If tax will be collected by independent third party tax collector, prepare tax collector RFP and conduct RFP process Ø Formal written Act 32 Tax Collection Agreement provisions are very important and should be included in RFP Ø Decision on whether to accelerate new tax collector appointment and universal non-resident withholding requirement to 01/01/11 instead of 01/01/12 Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC First Stage – Year #2 – 2010/2011 May/June 2011 • School districts adopt new EIT or PIT resolutions effective 01/01/12 July 1, 2011 • TCC deadline to adopt and begin implementing transition plan for transferring responsibilities to new Act 32 tax collector and implementing Act 32 income tax law changes Nov/Dec 2011 • Municipalities adopt new EIT or PIT ordinances effective 01/01/12 (might want to accelerate adoption to earlier date) Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Second Stage – 2012 and Future Years January 1, 2012 • Act 32 county-wide collection begins (unless accelerated) • Act 32 income tax law changes effective • Second stage of TCC responsibilities begins, involving oversight of countywide tax collection arrangements and periodic decisionmaking on continuing or changing arrangements • TCC = oversight organization (or bureau) Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

Dauphin County Act 32 Tax Planning Committee Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Planning Group Steps • What will planning group do? ØSeries of meetings ØCollect/summarize tax facts (from DCED website and taxing authorities) ØAddress/develop recommendations on major TCC issues ØEducation/communication affected parties • What legal authority? • Why start now? • What if TCC rejects recommendations? Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Planning Group Steps • Who is the leader? How get started? • Members of planning group? ØSD officials or business administrators ØLocal municipal officials or managers ØIdentify other interested parties • Sunshine Law/Right-to-Know Law? Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Planning Group Steps • How proceed? ØOrganization meeting v. Planning group composition v. TCC Legal Overview and Timeline v. Resources needed ØSubsequent meetings v. Authorize letter to taxing authorities – Act 32 required steps – Urge delegate appointment Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Planning Group Steps v. County dialogue, including establishing time and place for TCC first meeting v. Develop proposed TCC meeting agendas v. Set planning group meetings to address TCC issues v. Prioritize TCC issues/assign responsibility v. Develop proposed TCC bylaws v. Develop proposed TCC budget v. Legal counsel v. Funding mechanism for costs incurred before TCC first meeting v. Develop proposed TCC Right-to-Know Law Request Policy v. Conduct outreach programs – taxing authorities and business community Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Bylaws Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Bylaws • Bylaws = critical document – address ASAP – PASBO Act 32 TCC Model Bylaws Available – DCED model bylaws • Governing body – representatives of every school district and municipality within TCC that levies EIT • Mini United Nations – 52 Delegates – 11 SDs/41 munis = 52 possible delegates – PA Senate – 50 Senators • Weighted voting – based 50% on EIT revenue and 50% on population • Option to change statutory default rules Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Bylaws • Major decisions first; then drafting and details • Major bylaw decisions: Ø Overarching – how to streamline governance? Ø Delegate number: How many voting delegates should there be? Should number of delegates be reduced to streamline governance? Note: TCC first meeting requires delegate appointed separately by every TA (but multiple TAs may appoint same person). Ø Vote weight: Should there be weighted voting based on tax revenues and population? Alternatively, should each delegate have just one vote? Note: TCC must use weighted voting until bylaws adopted. Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District

TCC Bylaws 1. Management committee: Should TCC have a management committee? If so, what duties should be delegated to the management committee? 2. Employees: Will TCC have Executive Director or other employees? 3. Vote required for action: What vote is required for decisions? Simple majority of those present? Majority of all delegates? Supermajority for certain major decisions? 4. Many other decisions Rick Vensel, Operations and Business Manager South Middleton School District