Campaign issues

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 23, 2000

Use of technology

ALLEN: Impending growth in Hernando County will require more advanced methods of collecting taxes, particularly via the Internet, Allen said. Although some licenses, like fishing and hunting, are already available online, Allen is anxious to make services such as car tag renewals available by computer.

SIKES: By the middle of next year, Sikes said, the state of Florida will make motor vehicle registration available on the Internet. "No matter how many services we provide on the Internet, there are still going to be people who are uncomfortable with it," she said. "We need to maintain that personal touch."

Hours of operation

ALLEN: Allen said that by expanding hours of operation, particularly in Spring Hill, the tax collector can improve customer service and forgo staff and overhead increases. "People try to do business with us, and we make it inconvenient," he said. He suggests keeping the Spring Hill office (now open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m) open late one or two nights each week to accommodate working people.

SIKES: Sikes maintains that office hours in Spring Hill coincide with the hours of the Hernando County sheriff's substation next door. Keeping the office open without adequate security, she said, is not worth the risk. Further, Sikes said she does not think there is adequate demand for late or weekend hours.

Annual budget surplus

ALLEN: This year, the Hernando County Tax Collector's Office will turn over a $1.5-million budget surplus to the taxing authorities. Allen favors not charging taxpayers the 50-cent branch fee when they carry out a transaction in Spring Hill. "I really don't think we need to be charging everybody that 50 cents extra," he said.

SIKES: Eighty percent of the money collected by the office is from property tax commissions that are mandated by the state, Sikes said. Having money left at the end of the year reflects conservative spending a pattern Sikes said she will continue.

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