Franklin County revenue commissioner Veronica Stancil and two employees in her office recently completed the Association of Alabama Tax Administrators (AATA) Licensing Administration Certification Program.
Along with her chief clerk Jamie Bowling and Teresa Lawler, who works at the Red Bay office, Stancil completed the program offered through Auburn University's Government & Economic Development Institute.
The program is designed to provide greater proficiency and understanding to individuals working in Alabama's county licensing offices. Each program included testing at the end and requires continuing education maintenance.
“We completed all four courses offered by the Auburn Institute,” Stancil said. “They also offer property courses, and I've completed five of those. An elected official can never have too much knowledge. Learning never ceases.”
With constant changes coming in how the valuation of property is calculated in Alabama (including changes in legislation, Department of Revenue policy and from other authorities), it's important for those working in county licensing offices to be current on those changes.
“Every time we go we learn something new and come back and share it with everyone else in the office to keep them updated,” Stancil said. “It's important to maintain training. We have to maintain a certain number of hours to keep our certification once we are certified.”
While the methods to calculate value of property are ever-changing, Stancil said she has very little control over property taxes. Instead, her job and the job of her staff is to follow the methods provided by law to calculate value and collect the correct amount.
“Though we collect the money for taxes, we are under so many mandates from the State of Alabama that we have very little control over property taxes,” Stancil said. “You have to do a ratio study every year. We take sales from the prior year and send that information to Montgomery. They've already got values in for appraisals, and they come up with a formula and tell us whether to increase or decrease taxes.
“There's very little allowance on adjusting values. That's why it's so important if you disagree with the value of your property to go before the Board of Equalization."
Another area of her office with ever-evolving laws and policies is the licensing of motor vehicles. This was another of the recent training Stancil and her staff received.
“There are constant changes," Stancil said. "A lot of times you won't be aware of those unless you attend training and meetings. There have been changes with insurance and suspensions and mandatory liability insurance laws. There have been changes with titles. These programs are a good way to keep up with ever-changing laws."
