Tax Collector Receives Award For Performance Excellence

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL - Pinellas County Tax Collector Charles W. Thomas announced his office is received the 2020 Governor's Sterling Award for performance excellence in operations, management and strategic planning.

The Pinellas County Tax Collector is the first tax collector in Florida to be recognized three times as a Sterling role-model organization, including being a recipient of the Governor's Sterling Award in 2013 and the Governor's Sterling Sustained Excellence Award in 2016. The prestigious award is presented annually to organizations and businesses that meet or exceed the Sterling Criteria for Performance Excellence - a framework that helps these entities run better, smarter, and more efficiently.

The award follows a rigorous assessment process based on criteria from seven categories: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce focus; and results.

Throughout the last four years, the Pinellas County Tax Collector boasts high performance ratings in several areas. For walk-in customers, customer satisfaction was rated an average of 98.5 percent and transaction accuracy achieved an average of 99.6 percent. Overall workforce satisfaction attained an average of 90.5 percent. Overall costs remained below budget for 2016 through 2019. Finally, the external audits for 2016 through 2019 came back clean and error-free

In support of its vision of Customer-Focused Excellence, the organization has focused on creating a culture that makes continual process improvement a top priority.

"We are an organization that focuses on continual improvement and service excellence. Our goal is to provide Pinellas County residents with efficient and accurate service. This achievement confirms we are on the right track and are committed to being the best we can be," said Thomas. "I am extremely proud of and thankful for my team and all of their hard work throughout our Sterling journey. It is an honor to be recognized for our efforts."

The Pinellas County Tax Collector's office acts as an agent for multiple state departments, providing a wide range of services to residents from multiple locations throughout Pinellas County. Total collections are approximately $2 billion annually in taxes and fees, which are distributed among 67 taxing authorities. The tax collector also provides services for motor vehicle titles and registrations, driver licenses, concealed weapons licenses and birth
certificates.

This press release was produced by the Pinellas County Tax Collectors Office. The views expressed here are the author's own.