New Tax Collector office to save millions of dollars

TAMPA, FL – (Jan. 13, 2015) – Construction is expected to start next month on a new office to serve motorists and taxpayers of northwest Hillsborough County. Once open, the new office is expected to save taxpayers approximately $1.9 million.

In a first-of-its kind collaboration with the state, Hillsborough Tax Collector Doug Belden will partner with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) to open a 25,000-square-foot office at the intersection of Lois Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Located in the area of Tampa known as Drew Park, the office will be built on land once occupied by the DHSMV at 4100 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.  At the new location, residents will be able to obtain driver licenses, pay taxes, renew registrations as well as take advantage of some of the Tax Collector’s newer services – obtaining Florida birth certificates and applying for concealed weapons permits.

The new office will replace the current Tax Collector office in the Lowe’s/Target center at 6283 W. Waters Avenue. That office will close once the new office opens in September.

Belden said the office is unusual because it will house both Tax Collector and DHSMV personnel. The Tax Collector will use its portion of the office – about 20,000 square feet – to serve customers, while DHSMV will use the remaining 5,000 square feet for administrative operations. Historically, the two agencies have worked closely but never under the same roof.

“This is a prime example of government agencies working together while saving a significant amount of tax dollars,” Belden said. “Because we are using state-owned land, the land cost is virtually zero and we are closing an office that would have cost about $400,000 a year in rent with annual escalators.”

Belden estimated buying land on the open market would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. Plus the existing office that’s scheduled to close would have to be renovated to accommodate the growth in customers.

In 2010, the Florida Legislature mandated the closing of DHSMV offices and transferred many responsibilities to county tax collectors, resulting in a significant surge of customers. Transactions performed by Hillsborough Tax Collector personnel are growing at a rate of at least 50,000 a year.

“In order to achieve our core value of providing excellent customer service, our offices need to be larger to serve these additional customers.” Belden said.

Belden did a similar project two years ago in Brandon. He closed a leased office and built a newer and larger facility on county-owned land, which saved taxpayers $1,228,566 in land acquisition cost and $280,000 a year in rent with annual escalators.

The total cost savings in building the two new tax collector offices amounts to $3.4 million.   Belden said that these projects are good examples of when local and state government works together in a collaborative effort to better serve citizens. “I strongly feel that taxpayers want to see government agencies sharing best practices and working together for our community.”