Saluda considers Henderson County collecting part of city’s taxes

Published 10:00 pm Tuesday, July 21, 2015

The City of Saluda is considering paying Henderson County to collect property taxes for residents who live in the Henderson County portion of the city. Saluda already turned over tax collections for other property owners to the Polk County Tax/Tag Office.

Saluda City Council met July 13 and discussed the option with Henderson County assessor/collector Stan Duncan.

Duncan said the proposed agreement between Saluda and Henderson County is the same as a current agreement between Saluda and Polk County to collect taxes except there is no clause in Henderson County’s agreement for Henderson County to collect interest.

Duncan said if the agreement is approved, the Henderson County Tax Office would report to Saluda monthly and pay the city monthly for its taxes received.

There are 16-18 Saluda property owners within Henderson County. Duncan said he has projected for 2015 Saluda’s Henderson County property values are $2,813,135, which would equal $17,019 in tax revenue based on Saluda’s tax rate.

If the agreement is approved, the city would pay Henderson County 1.5 percent its tax revenues, or $255.29 for 2015 taxes, which is the same payment to Polk County for collections.

Saluda residents residing within Polk County should have recently received tax notices from the Polk County Tax Department.

Saluda approved turning over tax collections to Polk County in March with the collections beginning July 1.

Polk County also collects the Town of Columbus’ taxes and has since 1999. The Town of Tryon is Polk’s only town that does its own tax collections.

Saluda’s total tax revenue within Polk County this year was billed for $562,366 so if collections are at 100 percent, the city could expect to pay Polk County $8,400 for the tax collection service. The cost will be lower because collection rates are normally lower than 100 percent, with a county-wide average of 92-93 percent.

Polk County also plans to pay Saluda monthly for its collections, minus the 1.5 percent fee.

Saluda decided to hand over its tax collections following turnover in the city clerk position. Saluda is currently seeking a city clerk and taking applications for the position.

Regarding Henderson County collecting taxes, Saluda Mayor Fred Baisden asked Duncan if Henderson County Saluda residents will be billed for their taxes at the same time as Polk County Saluda residents.

Duncan said he hopes to get bills in the mail by the end of July.

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners as well as the Saluda Board of Commissioners will have to approve the agreement prior to proceeding with the change.