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Coffee County Trustee John Marchesoni shared fun facts about the collection and use of real and personal property taxes with members of the Manchester Rotary Club during its meeting Tuesday, April 25 at The Mercantile.

Officially responsible for the collection of real and personal property taxes in Coffee County, Marchesoni said “the trustee’s office is essentially the bank of the county.”

“As far as collecting property taxes, usually from October to February is always the most wonderful time of the year,” he said. “The reason I say that is that office it is like a homecoming. We always see people come in once a year and they tell us all the things that have happened throughout the year.”

Marchesoni said one of the most important things the Trustee’s office does is to build the trust and service the Coffee County community.

“How does government accrue revenue,” Marchesoni asked Rotary members.

“Most local governments are un on property taxes,” he said.

When a piece of property is purchased in Coffee County the deed is sent to the Register’s office, and the county assessor determines the value of the property.

Marchesoni’s next question for the group was how many parcels they believe are in Coffee County. The answer is 32-34,000 parcels generating between $32-34 million in property tax.

“That is where the counties and local governments get most of the money to provide services to the county,” he said.

Every March 1, county taxes become delinquent and interest begins to accrue. If taxes are not paid for four years, Marchesoni said those records are turned over to the Coffee County Chancery Court.

Marchesoni said the average tax collection rate at this point in time in Tennessee is between 90-92%. Coffee County is currently sitting at a 98% collection rate at this time.