It is Paralegal Week in Florida – May 27 – June 1
We have two paralegals – Susan Profant and Michelle Leeson who both work in or Field Collections and Services Department.
Susan Profant
Susan Profant is our office paralegal. She is NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) certified (CLA) and Florida Registered Paralegal (Florida Bar certified). She has been with the office since 1989 and was selected Employee of the Quarter in 1997.
Michele Leeson has been with our office since 1992. She was selected Employee of the Quarter in 2003 and graduated in December 2009 with an A.A.S. in paralegal studies.
Today may be tax day but this Friday April 19th is National Blue and Green Day. Our office will be blue and green on Friday April 21st as we join up with our partners Donate Life Florida. We urge your workplaces to do the same.
This Thursday April 4th marks the 2 year anniversary of the our office taking over driver licenses from the state.
In the two year time period we have some impressive stats:
- Appointments – 7,499 served with average wait time 02:33 minutes
- Road Tests – 6,985 served with average wait time 02:42 minutes
- Written Tests – 8,674 served with average wait time 02:36 minutes
- Non US Citizens – 10,573 served with average wait time 12:32 minutes
- Suspensions/Revocations/Cancellations 19,366 served with average 12:53 minutes
These transactions are by far the most difficult and time consuming to process and because of that they are only offered at our Desoto Branch Office. We offer limited driver license services at all locations.
We spent a whole year making preparations to take these duties on. Our management team did a great job coming up with a game plan and the staff bought into it and have executed way better than expected. I am very proud of them!
We are blessed with a fine group of part timers at the Tax Collectors office. We call them our “OPS staff” which mean “Other Personal Services” which is what the Florida Department of Revenue calls them in our budget preparation documents. They play an integral part to our office goals and objectives.
L-R Director Tony Conboy, Rebecca Bollom, Heric Fregonese, Tamia Mills, Ken Burton, Jr,, Assistant Director Ronda French, Sherrie Gerrits, and Carole Knestaut. Not pictured is Jashay Woodie and Sully Salinas
Our Current Collections part time staff are made up of greeters. They greet the public when they first walk into an office and help get them started with their transaction. As our duties have increased in recent years their job has become more difficult and now has a 3 day training.
L-R Manager Jedidiah Brightbill, Greer Gambill, Zachary Zartman, Raegan Horne, Kim Alfonso, and Director Marie Munford
Our part time Operations staff process the mail and web payments in a timely manner so that these customers see a quick turnaround on their transaction to ensure they will use it again in the future.
L-R Director Michele Schulz, Auditor Sue Sinquefield, Tanya Ranney, and Kristine Reeves
Our Field Services and Collections part time staff handle the collection of the local tourist development tax also known as the “bed tax” or “resort tax.” We have seen record collections in recent years and alot has to do with their collections efforts.
We recognize them every year at a luncheon at our Desoto office reminding them how important they are to the office.
Raegan Lindsay Horne is the 18-year-old daughter of Nathan and Nanette Horne. She has brown hair, blue eyes and is a 2012 graduate of Bayshore High School. Being far from ordinary, Raegan’s hobbies are equally interesting…she loves the outdoors and likes to spend her time frog-gigging, hunting and fishing. In the academic field Raegan has already earned her Associate’s Degree from the State College of Florida, and is now attending the University of South Florida where she is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Marketing. In the future she wants to work in the agriculture industry.
To have a successful organization you need to hire and surround yourself with great people. Raegan is one of many at the Tax Collectors office that are are extraordinary employees and I’m glad to see the De Soto Historical Society is recognizing her. She works in our Operations Department. Raegan we wish you the best of luck this year!!!!
Raegan is the 2nd employee to be selected to the Queen’s Court while working at the Tax Collectors office. The first was Emily Revell who was crowned Queen in 1998.
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For over 70 years the De Soto Heritage Festival has celebrated the beauty and talent of ten special young women from the community by naming them to the De Soto Queen’s Court. These young ladies are a special and select group. Candidates are recommended by the community and then the Hernando De Soto Historical Society makes its choices on the basis of character, appearance, scholastic ability, high morals, and personality. The current De Soto Queen’s Court serves as good-will ambassadors for the Hernando De Soto Historical Society and Manatee County through the Spring of 2014.
Dedicated employees are the key to any successful organization. Big events outside the office like the NFL Super Bowl can force some to take the easy way out and call in sick the following day.
For the Florida Tax Collector Mondays and Fridays are our busiest days of the week and if it is the beginning and ending of the month only makes it worse. Today being the first Monday of the month is one of those days. It would be very easy for staff to call in sick due to a huge weekend event and for us that translates into longer wait times.
After doing a quick survey, I am proud to report we are all fully accounted for today. Below was an article published today about Super Bowl fallout.
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By David Schepp
Posted Feb 6th 2012 @ 6:30AM
In the lead up to this year’s Super Bowl XVLI, fans of the New York Giants and New England Patriots likely devoted some of their work time discussing or analyzing what is arguably America’s premier sporting event.
Yet employers are likely to see the greatest impact on productivity today — the day after the big game — as workers congregate around water coolers, chat over cubicle walls or otherwise gather to discuss it.
For each employee, companies lose an average of $3.16 for every 10 minutes of time used discussing the Super Bowl and activities related to the game, such as managing office pools, according to employment-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Super Bowl revelers find the Monday after particularly difficult to manage, Challenger says, noting that some devoted fans have even started a campaign to make post-Super Bowl Monday a national work holiday.
Separate surveys conducted by employment-information website Glassdoor and Kronos Inc., a workforce management consultancy, show Americans are more likely to waste time or call in sick on the Monday following the Super Bowl than any other day.
The Workforce Institute at Kronos estimates that some 4.4 million employees will come to work late today, according to a 2008 survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The survey further shows that absences related to the Super Bowl are high among young adults, especially men aged 18 to 34; more in that group reported calling in sick than any other, according to the poll of more than 3,000 adults.
The findings were similar to those of Glassdoor, which found in a survey last year that about 3 percent of employees will take a sickday on the Monday following the Super Bowl, while three times as many plan to use a vacation day to avoid coming to work.
Among other findings, Glassdoor’s survey revealed that a fifth of employees surveyed say that morale is typically better in the office the day after the Super Bowl.
However, 22 percent of employees also said it’s commonly a less productive day than usual.
“[Today] is going to be a day of impaired productivity, for sure,” human-resource consultant Jack Milligan tells KTAR in Phoenix.
Many people are expected to overindulge at Super Bowl parties and then call in sick to work, says Milligan, principal at Leathers, Milligan & Associates LLC.
Statistics show that some 6 million to 9 million workers are expected to take the day off, he says.
For more results from Kronos’ 2008 Super Bowl survey, check out the infographic below:
Watch The Long Line Disappear!
Most people dread going to the “DMV” because of long lines and the horrible staff working there. The picture used for this article speaks volumes. In Florida at the local level, elected County Tax Collectors are the “DMV” which is just one of the many duties we provide each day.
We are no different than any other “‘DMV” starting our day with a long line at the door. On some occasions at our Desoto office the line goes all the way to 301 Blvd. The difference is how we handle it and the line goes away in a matter of minutes. Based on stats from our annual Voice of the Customer Survey the #1 choice is “Speed of Service” which does match up with a long line out the door.
Fast Tube by Casper
Here is how we do it:
“Good morning. (pause)
Customers with an appointment, please come to the front of the line. (pause)(repeat)
Anyone that is here to process a Driver License or ID transaction, this includes clearing suspensions, needs to have the Driver’s License/ID application completed. If you have not completed this form please step to your right and get the form and clipboard from the associate. You must complete this form before receiving a number.
Everyone else form two lines at the receptionist desk after entering the building.”
This is a favorite part of my day.