Want to learn more about how your tax dollars are collected? Here's your chance

Friday, 30 July 2010 14:31

TweetIn today's tough economy, responsible collection of the city's revenue is more important than ever.

In Hampton, the man in charge of that is City Treasurer Bob Williams, and on Tuesday, Aug. 3, citizens will have an opportunity to learn more about this one aspect of Hampton's finances when he'll be the guest host for "Virtual Lunch with Mayor Ward."

The weekly live online chat takes place from noon to 1 p.m. every Tuesday on the Hampton Commons website, http://hamptoncommons.com.

Williams became city treasurer in a special election in 2008, after his predecessor, Molly Ward, was elected mayor.

"Bob's primary responsibility is to bill and collect taxes pursuant to the Virginia code – and that is what he's legally required to do. But he does a lot more," Ward said.

In a June 17 blog post about her first legislative committee meeting with the Virginia Municipal League, Ward wrote:

"In Hampton, we really have blossomed our relationship with our constitutional officers. Of course, I am particularly familiar with the work of our commissioner of revenue and treasurer. They take on an enormous number of duties that are not required by law, and this puts more money into our coffers.

"For instance, we don’t have to pay an outside contractor to collect ambulance fees because the city treasurer now does it, and we can add service fees to help pay for the collections. We also have that arrangement for parking tickets, library fines and costs from the courts. And when administrative fees are added, I would argue that these services really pay for themselves and are not passed on to the majority of citizens who pay their bills on time."

Ward also pointed out that Williams has been an innovator in finding ways to make sure that those who responsibly pay their taxes and fees don't have to bear an unfair burden because of those who don't.

"Bob has been working on trying to get the state to let him collect uncollected state income tax – there are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars of uncollected taxes from what I understand. The collection of those taxes might help with the state budget cuts," the mayor said.

The mayor also noted that "Bob's office recently came up with a method to pass a delinquent file to the VEC (Virginia Employment Commission) and they had 31,000 matches. There are going to be a lot of liens on paychecks going out."

Tuesday's live chat will offer residents the opportunity to interact online with Williams, who can answer questions about how the city collects its revenue.

A former Hampton police officer, Williams retired in 2004 as a major after serving 31 years on the force. He then joined the Treasurer's Office as a field investigator and in 2005 was appointed chief deputy treasurer. He was elected treasurer in a special election in November 2008.


While the "Virtual Lunch with Mayor Ward" online chats are primarily for Hampton residents, anyone can "sit in" by browsing to http://hamptoncommons.com. Also, anyone can send ideas for chat-session guests or topics by participating any Tuesday.

Previous chat sessions are available HERE. Readers will find them to be entertaining and informative.