Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph is taking over more vehicle-tag and license duties from the state, a move he said could serve customers better and bring in $1 million.
This week he took over state issuance of licenses for those paying off tickets and fines at the county courthouse. Next week, the first-year tax collector will re-route registration renewals through his website and allow residents to order specialty plates without going to the office in person.
Both moves are part of a broader handoff of duties by the state Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and could recapture $1 million in fees now going to the state, he said.
“At a time when local governments continue to get unfunded mandates pushed onto them by Tallahassee, it’s important my office try to make up for that by keeping our tax dollars locally controlled,” said Randolph, also the Orange Democratic Party chairman.
The moves come amid a political push to turn his elected office into an administrative post. County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, a Republican, convened the Tax Collector Task Force in August, and its nine-member panel led by former state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R-Orlando, could produce recommendations this fall.
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