As Orange County Tax Assessor-Collector, Lynda Gunstream is accustomed to precise numbers. But she’s fudging a little bit now. She says she “considers it 36 years” that’s she’s worked in the office, even though technically she’ll be 12 days short.
Gunstream’s last day of her term is December 31 and she is retiring. She went to work in the tax office on January 12, 1981, when Louvenia Hryhorchuk sat in the elected seat. During the years, the office has moved to another building and gone into the digital age.
She’s seen the times when lines of people wound around the block of the courthouse for car license plates. The state had every license plate expire at the end of March every year; so everyone with a vehicle had to get registered in the same month.
Now, the vehicle registration is staggered by months. Customers can get new tags through the mail or online. They can also order a number of specialty tags, something that has expanded through the years.
The tax assessor-collectors office has a myriad of jobs, including several tied in with the state of Texas. The duties include issuing vehicle license plates and renewal tags. The office does vehicle registrations and boat registrations. In addition, the Orange County office collects property taxes for all 20 of the local entities, from cities and school districts to the special districts including the Port and Navigation District.
Gunstream said the one statement and pay place makes the taxes look higher all together, but it’s easier for taxpayers. In the past, sometimes taxpayers had to go to two or three different places or mail to different addresses.
“That could be confusing to some people,” she said. Sometimes a taxpayer would get a delinquent payment bill and they thought they had paid everything.
Gunstream has served as the elected official tax assessor-collector for 20 years. She was appointed to the spot after the sudden death of Rosemary Slaton and then soon ran for the seat. That first year she drew an opponent, but ran unopposed for the next four elections.
Another change she has seen is the use of credit or debit cards to pay taxes or get registrations. The county has to add a fee for the use of the cards, she said.
“Walmart has to pay a fee for the cards but they just absorb it. With the county, that would be the taxpayers paying the fee. Government’s a little different,” she said.
On Friday, December 30, the office will be closed for business from noon to 5 p.m. while state auditors go through and close out the inventory under Gunstream. The inventory will include the state-owned computers in the office and the number of license plates and tags in stock.
Gunstream said the office often reconciles the items, especially the license plates. “Prisoners box the license plates. We’ve had some strange things and missing plates,” she said.
She is a native of Orange County and graduated from Orangefield High School. She is married to John B. Heard. After she retires, her goal is to do “just about whatever I want to do. At first, I kind of want to stay home and get organizing the house.”
A retirement reception for Gunstream will be held Thursday, December 29, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the County Commissioners Courtroom.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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