County tax info to be online

As part of a comprehensive computer upgrade for the Morgan County Sheriff's Tax office, the county's property tax information will be available for view online by the end of the year, said Chief Tax Deputy Kim Michael.

The Morgan County Commissioners awarded a $43,000 contract to Software Systems, Inc. (SSI) of Morgantown to replace the tax office's IBM computer server, which has been in service since 1988. The price also included $12,500 to place county property tax records online.

Tax office employees have said much of their time is spent answering phone calls from lawyers and mortgage companies about property taxes.



Putting tax documents online will lift that burden from office workers, Michael has said.

Global Science Technology also bid for the contract, submitting a cheaper bid, but county officials opted to stick with the system already in place because it has performed well for the county.

The commissioners also projected that an up-front price savings of $12,000 for the Global Science bid would largely disappear over a ten-year period because of higher maintenance and replacement costs.

Michael strongly backed a contract with SSI, citing their history of quick customer service and system reliability.

"The tax office performs one of the most important functions in the courthouse. If they don't collect money, we don't go," said Commissioner Tommy Swaim.