Ben Anderson To Return Unused Revenue.

Ft. Walton Beach—The Okaloosa County Tax Collector’s Office is passing on to the Citizens of Okaloosa County, via the local taxing authorities, almost one-half million dollars in savings.  Tax Collector Ben Anderson says that his office is sending the Board of County Commissioners and the taxing authorities checks totaling $440,271.87 from unused revenue collected during fiscal year 2011-2012.   Anderson explains that the Okaloosa County Tax Collector Office is a ‘fee based’ office. “Florida Statutes and local governing bodies dictate the fee amounts and we receive commissions on those fees. We provide collection services for a variety of state and local agencies such as the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Revenue and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.”  He continues, “It is our responsibility to manage those funds with fiscal efficiency and integrity. In doing so, we return those savings to the Citizens through the local taxing authorities.”   Anderson says, “The amount our office is presenting to the taxing authorities comes even after we decreased our budget by 5.09%. It is important for tax payers to know that we will always strive to do more with less. ”