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WEST PALM BEACH – Monday, October 27, 2008 Anne M. Gannon, Tax Collector unveiled her latest initiative to transform the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s Office by providing clear tax notices with the simultaneous introduction of a more reliable and user friendly online payment experience. The new website enhances e-commerce capability and provides a wealth of information for taxpayers.
The tax notice was redesigned through the work of Team Time, one of the employee Knowledge Based Leadership (KBL) Teams, using a fact based decision making process. In 2007 nearly 5,000 taxpayers paid their November and December tax bills incorrectly by paying the future delinquent amount. After an analysis of the tax notice and feedback received from clients it was determined taxpayers were misreading the payment line. Team Time then created three prototype notices, surveyed employees and taxpayers, petitioned the Florida Department of Revenue to approve the revised bill and implemented the approved changes to reflect a new tax notice for November 2008.
“We are excited about the new tax notice and re-designed website. It is our hope that the notice is clear and clients take advantage of the discount payment period. Taxpayers are encouraged to utilize our website to conduct business to save time. We r ealize clients would like to use a reliable alternative to coming inside the office to pay for services. Therefore, these important changes are being unveiled to the start of the busiest season of the year (property tax season). ” said Tax Collector Gannon.
The Apprentice KBL Team re-designed the website after discovering the average time to complete an online payment transaction was approximately nine minutes. The team collected data from client comments submitted via email after unsuccessful online payment transactions and a client survey. The results from data showed the website was unreliable for payments and not user friendly. The team redesigned the website to offer features such as more visible pay buttons on the home page, fewer drop down options, and an option to receive an electronic receipt by e-mail.
“By implementing these improvements we are hoping to make the payment process less cumbersome, have the website become more reliable and user friendly and make the online experience fast and pleasant for our clients. Our employees are working hard to provide an “ungovernment experience” for our clients and we look forward to receiving feedback on the changes. ” stated Tax Collector Gannon.
The Knowledge Based Leadership Program is a five step problem solving process to build the capacity of employees to recognize work place problems and methodically use fact-based analysis tools to streamline work flow, make the application of process consistent, and assure changes and improvements are sustained.
A sample of the new bill with a description of each section of the bill and the new payment system are located on the newly designed website: http://www.taxcollectorpbc.com. We look encourage feedback on these changes which will allow us to serve you better.
About the Palm Beach County Tax Collector:
The Palm Beach County Tax Collector is a constitutional office that collects and distributes over $3 billion annually in taxes and fees. The Tax Collector's Office:
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