AS YOU shuffle through the day’s mail, a single envelope erases your good mood in the blink of an eye. The return address is enough to tell you it’s almost time to pay your property taxes. Even worse, you seem to recall talk of a tax increase. Can your budget handle it? Will your mortgage payment nudge out your ability to pay for other things you really can’t live without?
When you have these and other related questions in Lincoln County, your first trip or call may be to Trustee Mary Jane Porter’s office. And by the time you leave, your taxes may not have changed, but your disposition likely will. Although Porter and her staff are juggling the stress common to taxes and financial matters daily, kindness and courtesy are consistently among their checks and balances. Assisting you is their highest priority.
One of the most impactful ways they help is by bringing awareness to all the available tax relief programs. The staff assists property owners in navigating the programs’ application processes, easing any overwhelm that always comes with completing paperwork and meeting qualifications. Since Porter took office, the number of properties on tax relief has risen from about 400 to over 1000 this year.
Property owners over 65 or those who are disabled or are disabled veterans or their widows may qualify for one of the available tax relief programs. Porter and her staff gladly assist taxpayers with applying for the relief.
“That’s the highlight for all these ladies in here because we want to help people,” Porter said. “Sometimes, this process may take weeks. It might take 14 phone calls or me going to a house to pick up something, bring it [to the office], make a copy, and take it back. Because a lot of these people who can qualify don’t have transportation, they don’t have any way to make a copy of anything.”
Age is a requirement to qualify for relief under the over-65 program, and there are limitations based on income for consideration. There’s no age limit for disabled taxpayers, but there’s still an income limit. Disabled veterans or their widows may qualify regardless of age or income.
For most of us, our experience with Porter’s office relates to property taxes, but she is responsible for much more. Time and the pandemic have expanded her work.
“Things have changed so much in my 22 years of governmental finances. I’m the financial institution for the county, so every dime that comes through this county comes to my office,” she said. “It used to be that I had four accounts, and now I’ve got 21 checking accounts or CDs. COVID brought in so much more money, and everything’s got to be set up separately. Each governmental fund that you’re given has a different set of criteria on how it’s to be spent.”
When Porter took office in 2002, her experience at her former job with Fayetteville City Schools eased the learning curve as the office transitioned to computer records just before she took over. She’s responsible for records storage, with rules requiring some be kept for 10 years while her office must maintain others for a lifetime. Porter and her staff work with the Clerk and Master’s Office, where delinquent taxes are transferred for collection, the Tax Assessor’s Office, and the City of Fayetteville.
Porter is quick to tell you she couldn’t do it without the help of her team: Donna Collier, Jamie Sandlin, Lauren Pigg, and Donna Mills. They are committed to assisting everyone who enters their office, often going above and beyond what’s required or expected.
With a love for finance, local politics, and a good puzzle, the position was a natural fit for Porter, who chose to run when faced with the reality of college tuition for four children on the horizon.
She said, “I told my children, ‘Guys, if y’all want to go to college, you’re gonna have to help me,’ and all four of our children got out and knocked on doors.”
More than two decades later, Porter has no regrets.
“I live in a wonderful county, and I love serving the people of Lincoln County. I feel honored that I’ve been chosen to do this, and I’m thankful I can for a little longer if the people will let me,” said Porter. GN
