The Tax Collector's Corner is a piece written and submitted to the local newspapers for print. This article is a message to the community of Santa Rosa County from Robert G. McClure, Santa Rosa Tax Collector.

Published: 7/2/08
E-Mail: rmcclure@srctc.com

As your Santa Rosa County Tax Collector, I would like to take this opportunity to make everyone aware of how your Tax Collector Office’s funding and budget is handled.  The Tax Collector is an agent for various state and local government agencies, for the collection of revenue and public funding.  It is the responsibility of the Tax Collector to distribute these funds to various state and local agencies and taxing authorities.  A wide range of services are provided by your Tax Collector’s Office to the citizens of Santa Rosa County, which include: collection of ad valorem taxes, motor vehicle and vessel registrations and title applications, issuance of business tax receipts (formerly known as occupational licenses), issuance of hunting and fishing licenses and the collection of sales tax where applicable.  The Tax Collector operates as a “fee office”, which means a fee or commission is earned for the services rendered.  These fees and commissions are outlined in the Florida Statutes and established by the Florida Legislature.  The annual budget for the Tax Collector must be approved by the Florida Department of Revenue.  Excess fees which are earned but not spent are remitted back to the Santa Rosa County Commission.  Obviously these remitted excess fees have a significant impact on assisting the County Commission in keeping your millage rates low.  The below chart represents excess fees remitted since I took office:

My staff and I are proud to have been able to wisely budget and conservatively spend your tax dollars over the past several years. In so doing, we have been able to return nearly four million dollars in excess fees.  As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at 983-1800 or www.robertmcclure.com. 

Thanks for allowing me and my staff to serve you and I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4^th of July.

As always, thank you for allowing me and my staff to serve you.

Robert G. McClure, CFC