Allegheny county southeast tax collection management committee

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SOUTHEAST TAX COLLECTION

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

2700 MONROEVILLE BLVD

MONROEVILLE, PA 15146

APRIL 28, 2016

12:30 p.m.
Those in Attendance: Greg Erosenko, Municipality of Monroeville
Mickey O’Rourke, Elizabeth Forward School District

Paul Schott, Gateway School District

Bill Pfoff, Rankin Borough

Connie Rosenbayger, East McKeesport Borough

Patty Logo, North Versailles Twp.

Mike Whitico, Plum Borough

Rose Harr, Keystone Collections Group
John ?, Keystone Collections Group
Dayne Dice, Bruce Dice & Associates
Amanda Settelmaier, TCC Administrator

1. 
   Greg Erosenko called the meeting to order at approximately 1:40pm.
   

2. 
   Monthly Financial Statements and minutes were reviewed by the Committee. A motion was made by Mickey O’Rourke and seconded by Nancy Greenland to approve the Minutes. A motion was made by Mickey O’Rourke and seconded by Bill Pfoff to approve the Financial Statements and Bill List. The motions were approved unanimously.
   

3. 
   Amanda and Dayne provided a follow-up to the discussion on Turnkey Taxes. They both attended a Symposium hosted by Turnkey a few weeks ago. In essence, they provide a database for constituent data, and compare that data to other sources (ie. Utility companies). They charge $300 per month plus 25% of any new collections. Since EIT is reported by employers, the committee concluded that Turnkey would not be worthwhile for our TCC.
   

4. 
   The committee reviewed the 2016 Weighted Vote calculations. A motion to approve the calculation was made by Nancy Greenland, and seconded by Mike Whitico. Motion was unanimous.
   

5. 
   Ms. Harr reported that collections to date through March are $17,341,732.85, which is up by $1.8 million from last year at this time due to audit letters. E-file returns and refunds are 99% processed. Online filers from last year have increased from 20% to 31%, and overall since 2012 are up by 47%.
   

Keystone had an internal call blitz with extended hours through the weekend from April 15^th through 18^th. They opened 100 lines at the beginning of April to reduce hold times. They were the only collector that opened over that weekend.

Keystone provided soft skills training to their customer service reps which focused on listening and staying friendly.
Refunds from CPA firms that use Drake software will take longer. Drake arbitrarily changed the state form by adding lines without notification to collectors. These returns now have to be hand entered.
Keystone will be sending periodic email updates to taxing jurisdictions in order to keep in touch.

6. 
   There was discussion about TurnKey taxes. Bruce will investigate the legitimacy of claims being made.
   

7. 
   There were no public comments. A motion to adjourn was made by Mickey O’Rourke and seconded by Nancy Greenland. The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:25pm.