A new, 40,000-square-foot facility opened in St.Petersburg this week housing offices for the tax collector and property appraiser.

A new, 40,000-square-foot facility opened in St.Petersburg this week housing offices for the tax collector and property appraiser.

The full-service tax collector office, located on the first floor at 2500 34th St. N. in St. Petersburg, provides more than 8,000 appointments each month and offers all tax collector services in one location.

The new facility enhances the customer experience by offering increased privacy, updated technology and expanded services, including a closed-course driving range and a self-service vehicle registration kiosk.

The driving course is designed to handle two tests simultaneously while the kiosk enables customers to renew vehicle registrations on demand without an appointment.

The previous location at 1800 66th St. N. in St. Petersburg is permanently closed.

"We were at the previous location for more than 30 years. The needs of our customers outgrew what that facility could offer," said Pinellas County Tax Collector Charles W. Thomas. "It was time for an upgrade, and we are thrilled to finally be able to offer all our services under one roof, improving the overall customer experience for our south county residents."

The new facility has various protective measures in place including barriers at each workstation, hand sanitizing stations, customer screenings and day porters.

Currently, all tax collector offices are appointment-only although, Thomas said, this could change in the future.

"In response to the pandemic, we moved to an appointment-only system to allow for social distancing and to limit the number of customers in our offices at one time," Thomas said. "However, we plan to get customer feedback about the new system and whether to accept walk-in customers again. Ultimately, it will be the voice of the customer that helps guide our decision."

Appointments at the new facility are available now at taxcollect.com for the following services:

• driver's license/ID card transactions
• title services
• written tests
• road tests
• disabled parking permits
• hunting/fishing licenses
• birth certificates.
• Concealed weapon licensing services will be available at this location soon.

The Pinellas County property appraiser also has new office in the building.

Located on the second floor of the new building, the property appraiser's office provides face-to-face customer service as well as virtual meeting break-out rooms.

Additionally, the new facility includes training rooms (also equipped with virtual technology) to ensure that area appraisers throughout the county have a central location to receive continuing education.

I'm excited that this facility will allow us to continue to uphold the office's mission to provide courteous, knowledgeable and efficient customer service - particularly as the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes appear in mailboxes starting Aug. 25," said Pinellas County Property Appraiser Mike Twitty. "This new service center, along with our expanding online applications, website data and tools, and friendly telephone support, will allow customers to conduct business and have their questions answered in an efficient, educational and safe manner.

Walk-in service (no appointment necessary) is available to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The offices are observing public health best practices by using hand sanitizer, customer service counter plexiglass, face coverings and social distancing in the waiting room.

Most applications can be filed online or by mail. The public may speak to a live customer service representative during business hours by calling 727-464-3207.

Patch.com
Article by D'Ann Lawrence White