The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office Sails Through Surge of Mailed-In Checks

“Switching to scanners with full beds to handle various document size and point and click software is what truly created the greatest payback.”

Marie Inotai, Director, Operations Department, Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office

The Background

The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office processes more than just resident property tax payments. They also handle water bills, EMS invoices, and DMV renewals. Their staff of five full-time and two part-time employees typically process 50,000 transactions a month, which spikes in November and December to 100,000 transactions. With the NCR 7780 transport machines used previously, they could only handle checks and stubs, not the other paper sizes and correspondence they received.

The Challenge

The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office needed a very flexible system that could handle the needs of different senders and systems so they could reduce the physical touching of documents. The system also had to create positive outcomes for their constituents. When looking for a solution to their challenges, they turned to OPEX and Mavro Imaging to create a flexible, one-touch solution that allowed them to scale as needed without having to add more staff.

Key Challenges

Growing population in the county and an increase in services provided

Limited staff availability to deal with peaks and valleys in transaction requests

Surge in mail-in payment volumes due to pandemic

The Solution

OPEX’s Falcon scanners enabled Manatee County Tax Collector to ingest all the different types of documents they received. With the addition of Mavro Imaging’s software and its “rope and go” instant OCR capability, they also benefitted from the automated look up capability they required. In 2012, the Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office reduced its employee count by two people. Since then, however, they have experienced tremendous population growth. Combined with the pandemic, they not only would have needed those two employees, but an additional two employees had they not invested in the OPEX – Mavro technology. The impact has been significant. Prior to 2012, 25% of DMV paperwork was manual. Today, thanks to automation, that number is now only 5%. Similarly, in 2012, 8 – 10% of property tax paperwork was manual. Today, it is only a miniscule 0.02%. On top of that, in 2020 they met 100% of its processing time turnaround goals, making them a trusted partner for their constituents.

Key Results

0.02%

Percent of property tax transactions that now need to be handled manually

5%

Percent of DMV transactions that now need to be handled manually

4

Number of additional staff members that would have been required without the one-touch solution

“Knowing what I know now, I wish I made the switch sooner.”

Marie Inotai

Director, Operations Department, Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office

The Future

The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office has been asked to do more with less repeatedly over the years, and with technology they have been able to answer the call. The more services they offer, the more valuable they become to the County’s taxpayers. Not only do they spend money more efficiently, but they are also getting things done faster. The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office is prepared to scale as their community continues to grow.

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Download the Manatee County Tax Case Study PDF