by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Tax Collector Mike Hogan is making good on a campaign promise.
He’s formed an unofficial Tax Collector Advisory Board, which met for the first time Wednesday morning.
“When I was running, I made it clear that I would need plenty of input from the community,” said Hogan prior to the meeting. “That was a critical piece of my platform and I believe this committee, this board of directors, is going to give our office some very useful outside eyes.
“They’ll be able to tell us exactly who we are and how we’re doing.”
Hogan then introduced the eight-member board to each other and to his in-house management team.
Comprising of local business and political leaders, he said the group could meet as often as four times a year.
“Eventually we may only meet every six months, but I think it’s important to get as broad a perspective as possible,” he said. “Knowing that, we’ve brought together people on this committee who are very diverse.
“They differ in race, they differ in gender and they differ in their business backgrounds. For instance, on one end of the spectrum we have a member who runs a funeral home (Jill Peeples). On the other end we have a former U.S. marshall (George Grosse).”
Other members include State Rep. Audrey Gibson, attorney Timothy Volpe and small business owner Susan Hartley.
“These people represent all aspects and interests of corporate Jacksonville,” said Hogan.
After becoming more familiar with the inner workings of the tax collector’s office, Hogan said he hopes the committee will be able to identify its concerns and make suggestions fairly quickly.
“I have to tell you, we’re going to have a lot of challenges headed our way as Jacksonville continues to grow,” he said. “These are challenges that many of us have never encountered before and we need to be ready for them.
“No other elected official has as much contact with the public as the tax collector does, so it’s crucial for us to run an efficient office and be as prepared as we can be.”
The group will meet again in the fall.