2010 Conference Session

Marketing Your Program

State and local governments are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls. At a time when decision makers should be directing resources into collection efforts, many collection program managers are facing cuts and are unable to acquire basic needs. Government collection programs aren’t sexy. After all, who ever heard of an elected official making campaign promises to beef up collection efforts?! Collection managers need to prove and then market the value of their programs to keep resources flowing.

During this session we’ll talk about steps you can take to show the benefits of your program. Some of the topics we’ll cover include:

  • Low budget approaches to creating a top notch collection program;
  • Gathering and using data to improve and market your program;
  • Managing relations with elected officials and other decision makers; and
  • Building and making your case for additional tools and resources.

Speaker: Charlie Helms

Charlie Helms and serves as Director of the Collection Division for the North Carolina Department of Revenue. A native of Peachland, North Carolina, Charlie is a graduate of North Carolina State University with majors in Business Management and Economics. He earned designation as a Certified Public Manager in 2001 from the National Certified Public Manager Consortium.

Charlie began his career as a revenue officer with the NC Department of Revenue in February 1990. Since that time he has held various positions including Training Specialist, Senior Aid to the Assistant Secretary for Tax Compliance, and Assistant Director of the Collection Division. He is actively involved in professional organizations, including the Federation of Tax Administrators, the South Eastern Association of Tax Administrators, and the North Carolina Society of Certified Public Managers.

As Director of Collections, he administers sections of the NC General Statutes pertaining to collection of past due taxes. He has oversight responsibilities for the compliance program areas including field operations, central collection services, bankruptcy processing and offers-in-compromise. Charlie leads a 245 member staff of professional and paraprofessional positions.