Mission
The Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner's Office will provide tag and tax services that are accessible and responsive to the needs of citizens through innovation, technology, and a professional workforce.
Vision
A Leader in Public Service
Values
  • Exist to serve customers
  • Foster teamwork
  • Encourage proactive innovation
  • Provide meaningful and challenging work that matches employee skills and interests
  • Establish an ethical and open work environment
  • Lead by fact to remain conservative stewards of public resources
  • Plan for the future
Synopsis

Organizational duties and responsibilities:

  • Collect and account for approximately $1 billion in ad valorem taxes and tag fees annually on real and personal property (approximately $980 million from property taxes and $87 million from motor vehicle fees)
  • Prepare and submit the Gwinnett County Tax Digest to the State Department of Revenue (2010 value of the tax digest is approximately $31 billion)
  • Disburse funds collected to the state, Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, Gwinnett County Board of Education, CIDs, and 13 cities located within Gwinnett County
  • Provide information to citizens on tax and tag-related issues

Tax-specific duties and responsibilities:

  • Issue tax bills to property owners within Gwinnett County (290,643 property tax bills issued in 2009)
  • Accept applications for Homestead Exemptions (22,225 homestead exemption applications accepted in 2009)
  • Issue tax liens and auction property when collection efforts are unsuccessful (3,552 tax liens were issued in 2009 with an approximate value of $3 million)
  • Pursue the collection of delinquent accounts

Tag-specific duties and responsibilities:

  • Issue tag bills to vehicle owners within Gwinnett County (there are approximately 629,829 active vehicle registrations)
  • Serve as tag agent for the State Department of Motor Vehicle Services for the purpose of issuing license plates, decals, and processing vehicle title applications

2010 Authorized Strength: 118

Operating Budget: 2010 Budget Appropriations
$ 9,311,409
Strategic Objectives

Organizational Strategic Objectives

  • Provide quality, convenient, and responsive customer service
  • Foster professional relationships
  • Promote customer communication and education
  • Project a positive image
  • Optimize budgetary resources
  • Ensure ethical accountability, reporting, and disbursement
  • Comply with legal mandates
  • Promote effective internal communication
  • Streamline processes through technology and innovation
  • Hire and retain quality employees
  • Develop knowledge and skills of individual employees

Key Goals
  • Implement major upgrades to the tax management system (Manatron) by installing software version 8.06
  • Streamline property tax and motor vehicle payment processes by using the automated Payment Processing Center
  • Consolidate the Motor Vehicle and Property Tax call centers into a single unit located within the same office

Major Issues
  • Educating the public regarding motor vehicle and property tax regulations
  • Ongoing training for staff
  • Planning for and meeting the expectations of a diverse customer base
Richard Steele Tax Commissioner:

Richard Steele

770.822.7294
TaxCommissioner@gwinnettcounty.com

Richard Steele assumed the duties of Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner on May 1, 2011, when Katherine Meyer, tax commissioner since 1984, retired.   Richard previously held the positions of Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner, Director of Property Tax and Department of Motor Vehicle Branch Manager in the Tax Commissioner's office. 

Before joining the Tax Commissioner's office in 2005, Richard worked as Operations Manager for the UGA Campus Transit System and as a Budget Analyst for the Centers for Disease Control.

Richard received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Georgia in 1996 and is a member of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Georgia.  He lives in Buford with his wife and two children.  

Mike Sweigart Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner:

Mike Sweigart

770.822.7294
Mike.Sweigart@gwinnettcounty.com

Mike Sweigart was appointed Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner in May 2011.  He received a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.  Mike is a commercial real estate broker, and his background includes work as Director of Facilities at Knowledgeware, Manager of Strategic Planning for the Industrial Development Research Council and several progressive financial positions at Unisys Corporation and Ex-Cell-O Corporation.  Mike is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett and a member of the Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners.

 

Anthony Buffum Department of Motor Vehicles Director:

Anthony Buffum

770.822.8818
Anthony.Buffum@gwinnettcounty.com

Anthony Buffum was appointed director of the Department of Motor Vehicles in August 2006. He received his bachelor’s of science degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also certified as a Public Administration Manager by the University of Georgia. His professional career encompasses over 30 years of extensive experience in the management and leadership of private and government enterprises.

Suzanne Hood Department of Property Tax Director:

Suzanne Hood

770.822.8800
Suzanne.Hood@gwinnettcounty.com

Suzanne Hood was appointed to the position of Property Tax Director in 2010. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with majors in Operations Management and Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona in 1992.

Suzanne worked for PetsMart, Inc., in various store and regional management positions before coming to work for the Tax Commissioner in 2005. She most recently served as the Senior Tax Business Manager within the Department of Property Tax.