GAINESVILLE - It's not as beneficial as having a satellite tax office in area, but Hall County Tax Commissioner Darla Eden says a new tax kiosk will come close.
Eden presented a plan to county commissioners at a work session Monday afternoon that would allow for the placement of a piece of tax payment equipment, about the size of an ATM, to be placed at the North Hall Community Center on Nopone Road off Highway 129. The kiosk would be used for motor vehicle renewal registrations.
"The kiosk allows the user to scan in the bar code from your renewal form and then allows [the taxpayer] to follow just a few simple touch-screen steps to complete the payment. Your decal is printed and you can place it on your car immediately," said Eden.
The fee for using the kiosk would be $3 for up to 10 renewals, according to Eden. The kiosk would accept debit and credit card payments only.
Eden said she gets requests in the main tax office almost daily for a reinstatement of a tax office in the north Hall area. The satellite office in Clermont was closed in August 2011 because of budget constraints. She said at some point, she hopes the county will be able to open satellite offices again. Eden said the community center is a perfect place for the kiosk, since more than 4,000 people visit the center in a given month.
"I would love to restore both the north Hall and the south Hall tag tax full-service operations," said Eden. "However, this is a little step that is very minimal in cost that we can start with."
Eden said she has submitted a request in her 2016 budget to open a satellite office in the Hall County Sheriff's Office - South Hall precinct.
Eden told commissioners that Intellectual Technology, Inc. (ITI) owns the equipment and would be responsible for maintenance of the kiosk. She said ITI kiosks are being used in several Georgia counties, and she told commissioners she had talked to those tax offices and received only praise for the system.
If commissioners approve the request and sign the contract for the kiosk on Thursday, Eden said she wants to have the kiosk in place by May or June.
