On November 12, 2002, Fulton

County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter ruled against Fulton County in

the matter of the sale of tax liens. Consequently, as Fulton County Tax

Commissioner I am under a court order to sell tax liens to anyone making

such a demand or face contempt charges.

Laws enacted by the Georgia

General Assembly provide the framework Tax Commissioners must use to carry

out their responsibilities of collecting taxes.

During the 2002 legislative

session, legislators alarmed with the usurious profits reaped by investors

resulting from tax foreclosures took steps to make it less costly for

taxpayers to redeem property after foreclosure. Of particular interest

to legislators was the plight of the elderly on limited income.

To address these issues, the

legislative body repealed the statute governing transfers of liens, Official

Code of Georgia Section 48-3-19, in its entirety with the intent of reversing

the indiscretions the statute fostered, and reducing the financial incentives

attracting investors to purchase tax liens.

Upon the governor's signing

of the bill, I immediately ceased the practice of lien sales. In place

of lien sales, we developed a plan to renew the practice of non-judicial

foreclosure, a practice I ceased during my first month in office in 1997.

To date I have not been presented

with an example of an elderly citizen losing a home due to a tax lien

I have sold since taking office in 1997. In Fulton County, there is a

higher payment rate among the elderly than the rest of the general population,

and those unable to pay in a lump sum are now given payment plans.

Official Code of Georgia Section

9-13-36, permitting lien sales, survived the 2002 legislative session.

My refusal to sell liens, in keeping with the legislative intent, resulted

in a lawsuit filed against me in Fulton County Superior Court. On the

basis of this statute, Judge Baxter made his ruling that as Tax Commissioner

I must sell liens when presented with a demand.

This surviving statute does

not require notification to taxpayers prior to tax liens transfer. To

address this deficiency in the surviving law, my office mailed 39,000

courtesy letters to delinquent taxpayers alerting them of the court ruling,

and encouraging prompt payment to avoid lien transfer.

Fulton County is Georgia's

largest and most populous county, with a tax roll more than double that

of any other county in the State. The scale of operation of our tax office

in many instances calls for a different business model than smaller counties

in order to operate efficiently and fulfill our fiscal responsibility

to the governing authorities.

The 2002 tax revenue digest

of the DeKalb Tax Commissioner's office is $450 million compared to the

$1.4 billion of the Fulton Tax Commissioner's office. You simply don't

run the Exxon Corporation with the same processes used to run an Exxon

gas station.

Since taking office in 1997,

we have worked within the framework of the tax laws to create an effective

operation of continuous improvement to yield a collection rate of over

99 percent while reducing delinquent taxes from a high of $208 million

dollars to less than $40 million by year's end.

Governing authorities require

a prescribed revenue base to provide essential services: fire protection,

public safety, education for our children and salaries for teachers, senior

facilities for our elderly, parks and the arts for quality of life, roads,

neighborhood sidewalks, and health facilities for our wellness. A greater

tax burden falls on fewer taxpayers when scofflaws don't pay their fair

share.

Tax collecting is a lonely

business and by no means a popularity contest. As Tax Commissioner, I

do not get invitations to many parties.