Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BEAUMONT — Various Port Arthur citizens, figures and elected officials attended the Jefferson County Commissioners Court Tuesday morning to protest the Tax Assessor’s decision to temporarily close the Tax Office in Port Arthur. Many fear that the temporary closure will lead to a more permanent closure with many local residents unable to travel to Mid County, where the next closest office is located.

 

“That’s the question we need to ask, ‘Why? ’” said Reginald Trainer of Port Arthur. “Why are you just picking on Port Arthur? We are voters, we have a right to voice our opinion and you have a right to hear it.”

 

Many residents pleaded to have the office remain open out of fear of being disenfranchised and community members not being able to travel to other offices or use computers to benefit from the local tax office. 

 

“I’m asking you to look within your heart, see what is right for the citizens,” said Trainer. “Put yourself in that situation, if it were you or your parents, or your family members, it’s all they have to depend on. Port Arthur downtown already looks like a ghost town. Are you trying to take the ghost out of the town?” 

 

Various members of the Port Arthur city council appeared and spoke in protest of the closure, including Mayor Thurman Bartie. Bartie had asked all citizens of Port Arthur present in the room to stand with him as he spoke. 

 

“The city of Port Arthur hereby request, Judge Branick, county commissioners Brandon Willis, Cary Erickson, Michael Shane Sinegal and Everette “Bo” Alfred and Tax Assessor Kate Carroll to take an account of the 60,000 plus residents that are in south county to immediately reconsider and reverse the decision that you planned to close the Jefferson County Tex office in the city of Port Arthur and with the city manager, city attorney, city secretary and myself mayor of Port Arthur, I present this resolution to you today,”  said Mayor Bartie. 

 

The Port Arthur city council resolution to immediately reconsider and reverse the decision of the temporary closure was adopted and approved on June 4 during a regularly scheduled city council meeting.  Councilmember Doneane Beckcom was the sole no in the voting on the resolution.  

 

At the end, the Tax Assessor Collector Kate Carroll was allowed to speak and respond to the questions and concerns raised. Carroll defended her decision, stating that there was a lot of misinformation spread about the closing and that it was always planned as a temporary closure and not a permanent decision. 

 

“Right now, taxes should be paid by everybody for the year, unless you’re one of the 3,000 in the county that choose to utilize a quarter pay option,” said Tax Assessor Carroll. “There should not be anybody, unless you’re past due and delinquent that is making a payment in the office. It’s very easy to armchair quarterback a decision when you don’t fully understand all the working parts of this office and being a strong woman with business acumen, I stand beside the decision I made. This amount of time has been expended to misunderstand and misinform on this temporary situation.”

 

The press release to notify the public of the closure of the office was received by Port Arthur Newsmedia on May 29 at roughly 2 p.m. and the office was set to close the following Monday, June 2. 

 

The County Commissioners do not hold the power to prevent the closure of a tax office; that power is solely with the county tax assessor-collector. The office is still slated to be closed until Aug. 29.