Good news came at the end of a long and arduous meeting of the Moore County Board of Commissioners last week.

The marathon meeting was well into its third hour when Tax Administrator J. Wayne Vest reported a tax collection rate of almost 99.6 percent for the 2008-2009 year.

It was part of Vest's annual settlement report, required for the commissioners to charge him with authority to levy property taxes for the 2009 tax year.

Vest took time to thank the taxpayers of Moore County for their cooperation in making the job of collecting taxes easier. He also praised the work of his staff and thanked the commissioners for their assistance.

"One reason the county is in a position to fund so many projects is the excellent work of your department," said Commissioner Tim Lea, adding that the high collection rate also helps to keep the tax rate low.

Lea noted that the county was able to reduce the tax rate this year.

Vest said that this is the 18th consecutive year that the tax collection rate has been well above 90 percent and the sixth consecutive year that it has been above 99 percent.

County Manager Cary McSwain called the collection figures "an incredible number."

At the end of the 2008 year, the county had unpaid real property taxes in the amount of $211,998.65, including $12,870 in cost and interest and another $33,883.64 uncollected for personal property.

Vest also reported that the county had waived almost $35,000 in tax bills so small that it costs more to collect the bills than the amount collected. This is a policy adopted by the commissioners in a previous year. Waived were 11,070 bills for motor vehicle property taxes averaging $2.74 apiece and 1,653 bills for real and personal property averaging $2.63 apiece.

The commissioners accepted the settlement, then charged Vest with authority to levy taxes for the current year.

Property owners can expect to receive their tax bills within a few weeks.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at 693-2479 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.