External tax-collection counsel Connor Buchanan and Rick Bostwick briefed the board on delinquent property-tax collections and related state-aid recovery work.

Buchanan said delinquent tax accounts transferred to the collection firm in July are showing good early recovery rates: a substantial portion of the turned-over balance had been collected within months. He and Bostwick emphasized a collection approach that prioritizes outreach and payment agreements and avoids aggressive actions when owners face hardship.

The presenters cautioned that appraisal-district tax-roll changes and a large increase in appraisal protests (rising from roughly 14,000 to about 24,000 in recent years) have created a pattern in which collected dollars are later adjusted and refunded. Buchanan said that, had certain late adjustments not required refunds, the district's collections would have exceeded 100% for the year by about $1 million.

Bostwick said the firm conducts audits to identify values and state-aid adjustments that result from corrected rolls; he reported the firm recovered about $731,000 for tax year 2021 and more than $8 million in state funding adjustments across seven years. He said that only a small fraction of properties ultimately are sold for unpaid taxes: of the properties filed for lawsuit and sale this year, only eight were ultimately sold or bid into trust.

Buchanan described the office's customer-facing set-up, two added staff positions to support outreach, and the use of payment agreements and exemption assistance to increase collection rates while treating taxpayers respectfully. The tax-collection services and the state-aid audit work are provided at no direct cost to the district, the presenters said (the firm's fees are paid from collected funds per standard contract terms).

Board members thanked the presenters for the work and noted the importance of balancing collections with taxpayer hardship and community relationships.