NEWS ARCHIVE
NELDA WELLS SPEARS FILES FOR RE-ELECTION
Travis County Tax Collector to Run On Record of Building Texas’ Best Local Tax Collection and Voter Registration Rates, Vows to Keep Fighting Against Scheme to Privatize Public Services
(AUSTIN) — On the first day that candidates can register to run in next spring’s Democratic primary, veteran Travis County Tax Collector Nelda Wells Spears today filed her official papers, saying she is eager to make the case for why her steady leadership through changing times has helped achieve the highest tax collection rate in Texas and the best voter registration record of any major county in the state — and why that performance is proof that outside schemes to privatize the county’s $2 billion annual collections should be defeated.
“Our public schools, public health, and public safety depend on a fair, professional tax collection operation free from political ideology and the influence of outside special interests,” Spears said. “That’s what we have delivered for Travis County, and I intend to ask voters to rehire me for a job well-done.” More…
NELDA CALLS ON TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE TO FIX DATABASE FLAWS
Nelda again called on Texas’ new secretary of state this week to fix persistent technical flaws in the state’s mandatory election administration software, a serious issue somehow not addressed in a new report by the state auditor.
“I am especially disturbed by an ongoing glitch that results in thousands of legitimate voters who move from one county to another being removed from the database despite repeated efforts by local voter registrars to reinstate them,” Nelda wrote to Secretary of State Phil Wilson. “These flaws strike at the very heart of our hard-won rights over the years to participate in the process — and to count on its integrity.”
This week’s letter is the latest in Nelda’s ongoing campaign to safeguard voters’ privacy and right to vote. Having achieved the highest voter registration rate of any urban Texas county during the last presidential election, she urged Secretary Wilson to guarantee that the state’s database glitches will be fixed long before next spring’s presidential primaries.
View Nelda’s latest letter here.
More…
A Message From John Sharp and Nelda Wells Spears
Tomorrow’s Election Day, and we are writing with a simple request — please join us in voting for Proposition 15, the cancer research and prevention fund.
To find your polling place in Travis County, click here: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/county_clerk/election/20071106/polls.asp
Each of our lives has been touched by cancer, and we bet yours has, too. Each of us has also been entrusted with collecting the resources to pay for vital public programs. More…
NELDA ASKS WASHINGTON TO STOP PRIVATIZATION SCHEME
Nelda has asked Texas senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to back a measure approved by the U.S. House last week that will end a program that steers public resources to private debt collectors so that they can pursue minor amounts owed by individual citizens and small businesses. The bill is expected to hit the U.S. Senate soon.
“This is a bad idea that wastes tax dollars and exposes citizens to harassment by private debt collectors,” Nelda wrote.
Having compiled the best tax collection rate of any county office in Texas, Nelda noted that the IRS is one of the biggest and best-funded bureaucracies on earth.
“If they need some advice about how to do a better job, we’d be happy to help,” she wrote. “But privatization isn’t the solution.” More…
SPEARS CALLS ON TEXAS SENATORS TO BACK MEASURE ENDING PRIVATIZATION OF TAX COLLECTION EFFORTS
Travis Co. Tax Collector With State’s Top Collection Rate Says Privatization Costs Jobs, Tax Dollars
(AUSTIN) — Travis County Tax Collector Nelda Wells Spears, having compiled the best tax collection rate of any county office in the state, today called on Texas senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to back a measure approved by the U.S. House on Wednesday to end a program that funds private debt collectors so that they can pursue taxes owed to the federal government by individual citizens and small businesses.
“Steering public resources into private hands is a bad idea that wastes tax dollars and exposes citizens to harassment by private debt collectors,” Spears said. “The House did the right thing in voting to end this scheme, and I hope our state’s two senators will, too.”
Spears said the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to end the Republican-backed program, which was enacted in 2004. Yesterday’s bill passed with a wide 232-173 majority and is supported by taxpayer advocates concerned about misuse of citizens’ personal financial information. More…
A RECORD-SETTER SETS ANOTHER RECORD!
Under Nelda Wells Spears, the Travis County Tax Office has consistently compiled the best tax collection rate in Texas. She’s done it again — hitting the previous record of 99 percent for the fiscal year ending September 30.
She did it with 10 percent fewer lawsuits, too. And in the midst of an economic downturn.
“We matched the previous collection rate record and brought in $101 million more than last year with 70 fewer lawsuits,” Nelda said. “Best of all, these resources will go to fund vital public services, not private law firms.” More…
TRAVIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE COLLECTS RECORD REVENUE WITH FAR FEWER LAWSUITS
Nelda Wells Spears Hits 99 Percent Collection Rate With 10 Percent Fewer Lawsuits
(AUSTIN) — Travis County Tax Collector Nelda Wells Spears this week submitted her official report to the Commissioners Court for the year ending September 30, showing that her office hit a 99 percent collection rate two days after the close of the fiscal year, filed 10 percent fewer lawsuits, and brought in more than $1.8 billion in taxes to fund public schools, public health, and public safety.
“We matched the previous collection rate record, brought in $101 million more than last year with 70 fewer lawsuits, and did it all with only two extra days,” Spears said. “Best of all, these resources will go to fund vital public services, not private law firms.”
Last year, Travis County filed 675 lawsuits to collect taxes owed. This year, only 605 were filed to achieve the same collection rate. The $1.8 billion collected from all taxing jurisdictions compares to $1.7 billion last year. More…
IT’S NOT OVER YET
More than 50 years ago, my relationship with the Travis County Tax Office began when I accompanied my grandmother to pay her poll tax. That experience has been part of my motivation to build the best county tax office in Texas.
With me, it’s personal. And I think my grandmother would be proud of the job I’ve done. More…
This is What Leadership Looks Like!
Nelda launched her campaign website recently to remind Travis County voters that it makes a difference who is in charge of collecting the taxes you pay from your hard-earned money.
- 99 percent tax collection rate, the best in Texas, to fund public schools, public health, and public safety
- Nearly three-quarters of a million customer-friendly license plate renewals a year, with expanded service hours at more than two dozen sub-stations
- More than 94 percent voter registration during the last presidential election — higher than any urban county
Nelda’s Campaign Gets Off to Winning Start!
Nelda launched her re-election campaign last month with a strong statement of purpose:
“This is a big job, so let’s not waste any time on small talk,” she said. “Our public schools, public health, and public safety depend on a county tax collection operation that’s fair, steady, and non-partisan.”
The county’s top vote-getter last time she ran, Nelda has built the most successful county tax office in Texas, with a tax collection rate of more than 99 percent and a voter registration of nearly 95 percent in the last presidential election. More…
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