Controller suggests changes after delay in processing taxes
In a recent audit of the Real Estate Division of the Department of Finance, the city controller encouraged the department to allow online tax payments and urged Pittsburgh City Council to consider timing of implementation when passing tax laws.
The audit, which was done in response to “significant delays” in 2021 tax collection and processing, contained multiple recommendations made by Controller Michael Lamb for the Real Estate Division.
One of the recommendations is to allow the city to collect tax payments online, which Allegheny County already does.
The online payment system would “dramatically decrease the workload” of the department by eliminating the need for check processing, according to the audit.
The controller is also asking that City Council consider implementation when they pass tax laws, like the new city parks tax.
They passed that legislation on Dec. 28, 2020, and it went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
“To begin the collection of the parks tax, as required by the law passed only a week earlier, an additional bill had to be calculated, printed, and mailed to every property owner,” Mr. Lamb said. “This doubled the workload for the short-staffed department and created confusion among taxpayers.”
By early May 2021, the department reported being backlogged by six to eight weeks.
He went on to say that had a consultation occurred the department “would have been able to shed light on the potential issues and likely encouraged council to delay implementation.”
Another recommendation made by the controller was that residents should be notified when the tax management systems change, like they did in September 2021.
Auditors were told that staff was given four weeks of training
on the new system with an additional two weeks if needed, according to the report.
However the audit found that with even more training on the new systems, staff would be more prepared to answer questions from taxpayers and assist with the system transitions. The audit also found that the equipment used in 2021 was “not adequately vetted” by the finance department.
The controller recommended that should any “system-changing equipment” need to be purchased again, the Office of Management and Budget should verify that appropriate employees with the “requisite experience” are being consulted.
“This would aid in writing the requirements of the [request for proposals] and ensure all processing needs are being met with the new purchase,” the report said.
After dealing with the staffing shortages spurred by the COVID- 19 pandemic, the controller also recommended that the department create an emergency plan for any instance in the future in which bills “cannot be timely processed.”