Treasury and Billing Division created
Posted On: December 16, 2020
The Volusia County Council on Dec. 15 approved the dissolution of the Revenue Division and the creation of the Treasury and Billing Division, reflecting the office’s revised role as required by Florida Amendment 10.
Amendment 10, also known as the Florida State and Local Government Structure Amendment, was approved by a statewide referendum in November 2018. One section of the amendment was a provision that requires every county to have five constitutional officers: tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, clerk of courts, and sheriff.
For the past 50 years, since Volusia County voters approved a home rule charter, elected charter officers have served as property appraiser, sheriff and supervisor of elections, while a professional revenue division has served as the county cashier and constitutional tax collector. That will change on Jan. 5, when those charter officers transition to county constitutional officers and the new tax collector takes office. In Volusia County, the clerk of the court has always been a constitutional officer.
Under its new name, the county-run Treasury and Billing Division will continue to handle water bill payments, the collection of business and tourist taxes, and county cashier functions. The division will also assume responsibility for emergency medical billing, investment management, and other financial matters assigned by the county manager.
“Our goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible for county residents,” Treasury and Billing Division Director Craig Baumgardner said. “We will continue to offer customer-focused service and are planning several business enhancements.”
To make it easier for residents to pay their water bills, the new division will install payment kiosks at the public libraries in DeBary and Edgewater, where most county water customers live. The libraries at City Island, Hope Place, Ormond Beach, Deltona and DeBary will also begin accepting in-person payments in January.
The Treasury and Billing Division will be located in the Historic Courthouse, 125 W. New York Ave., Room 120, DeLand.
Meanwhile, the Tax Collector’s Office will assume the Tax, Tag and Title space in the administration center and the other three locations in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Orange City. The Tax Collector’s staff will take care of property taxes, tags and titles. During the next year, the office is expected to also take on driver’s licenses, concealed weapons permits and birth certificates.
