#MiddleburyCT #TaxCollector
Middlebury Tax Collector Brenda Carter is wrapping up her work. She is looking forward to starting her retirement in December after 20 years of service. (Marjorie Needham photo)
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Middlebury Tax Collector Brenda Carter was due to be reelected this November, but her name won’t be on the ballot. Instead, she will be happily heading into retirement.
Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John said “Brenda has done an awesome job for the town as tax collector. You have only to look at the unpaid taxes, which she has gotten down to a minimum. We wish her well in her retirement and extend our best wishes to Cindy Palomba as she steps into the position.”
Palomba, the current tax clerk, works with Carter and is the only tax collector candidate on the November 7 ballot. A Republican, she was cross-endorsed by the Middlebury Democratic Town Committee.
Carter said she hadn’t originally planned to retire just when she reached 20 years of service but, “My family is dealing with some medical issues and it’s the end of my term, so the timing is really right.” In addition, her grandchildren are at the age where they are involved in a lot of activities, and since both their parents work, Carter and her husband will have more time to help them.
She started serving as tax collector in 2017 after being appointed to the position when former Tax Collector Jean Dawes retired. She then was elected to a four-year term in 2019. When she was appointed, she was no stranger to the tax office. She had been working there as a tax clerk since 2003.
Carter said her favorite part of the job was interacting with residents. “Some are not so nice, but I get it,” she said. “Taxes are difficult. But there are so many nice people I’ve met over the years. You get to know a little bit about them and their ups and downs.”
Her least favorite part of the job was when she had to do a tax sale (auction off property due to unpaid taxes). “Most of the time, we can work something out,” she said. “That’s why I always tell people, ‘Don’t ignore notices.’ You just get into hot water that way.” She said she always added personal notes to notices asking people in default to call her so some sort of payment plan could be worked out.
A lot has changed in the tax office over the past 20 years. Residents may remember the days when all tax bills were mailed from town hall. For this year, that would have been more than 12,000 bills to print and stuff into envelopes. An outside firm now prints and mails the bills.
Payment methods have changed, too. While you can still pay bills in person by check and, if less than $300, by cash, you also can pay online, mail to the processing center, or put your check in the drop box on the town hall door.
Cash payments got limited to $300 or less after one taxpayer showed up 20 minutes before closing to pay $10,000 in taxes in $20 bills. Aside from the time it takes to count that amount of cash, town hall is not set up to store large amounts of cash.
The tax collector’s office also now uses a scanner to directly deposit checks to the bank. Carter said they started using the scanner about 3 years ago, and it’s a huge time saver.
Carter’s term officially ends December 4, 2023. Before then, residents can stop by her office and wish her well as she heads into retirement.
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