Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
2015-2016 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report Department of Revenue:
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
The Department of Revenue’s account statements have been sent to debtors with the leading digit of the month missing. This resulted in statements listing incorrect dates, which could leave debtors confused as to how their payments were being applied. Department of Revenue inspections were not shown to be effective in catching anomalies such as those seen in misprinted statements.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The County should improve the account statement printing process at the Department of Revenue to ensure that the type of error discussed in this report is avoided.
F2
The current Department of Revenue complaint system lacks online accessibility for debtors and does not include an internal complaint tracking function.
Related Recommendations (3)
R2a
The County should implement an online complaint system accessible through the Department of Revenue’s website.
R2b
The County should implement a system for the Department of Revenue to track questions, complaints, and follow-ups.
R2c
The County should require the Department of Revenue to monitor and report complaint response times to ensure the goal of two business days is met.
F3
Online access provided by the Department of Revenue to debtors is limited to viewing current account balance and making a payment.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The County should improve online access through the Department of Revenue’s website to include the ability for debtors to view and download account transactions and past statements.
Conclusions 5
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CL1 Page 5The Department of Revenue’s account statements have been sent to debtors with the leading digit of the month missing. This resulted in statements listing incorrect dates, which could leave debtors confused as to how their payments were being applied. Department of Revenue inspections were not shown to be effective in catching anomalies such as those seen in misprinted statements.
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CL2 Page 6The current Department of Revenue complaint system lacks online accessibility for debtors and does not include an internal complaint tracking function.
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CL3 Page 6Online access provided by the Department of Revenue to debtors is limited to viewing current account balance and making a payment.
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CL4 Page 5Complaint handling and tracking
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CL5 Page 5Online access to accounts Findings and Recommendations Finding 1 The Department of Revenue’s account statements have been sent to debtors with the leading digit of the month missing. This resulted in statements listing incorrect dates, which could leave debtors confused as to how their payments were being applied. Department of Revenue inspections were not shown to be effective in catching anomalies such as those seen in misprinted statements.