Tax Talk: July 2025

It was a milestone celebration for our Client Care and Research Center (call center).  The team recently celebrated the monumental accomplishment of answering 71,000 more client calls last year from the previous year – that’s an average of 287 more calls a day!

This well-deserved celebration consisted of a catered luncheon that was served to the team by their managers in two shifts to maintain phone coverage for answering clients’ calls. This is a testament to the dedication of Client Care Representatives to be able to answer an additional 71,000 calls last year while also reducing wait time by eight minutes.  I am proud of their hard work and their passion for meeting the needs of our clients.

In an effort to deliver efficient, exceptional service, the CCRC was focused on increasing call answering volume and last year the team answered a total of 309,094 calls! 

Congratulations to the CCRC team on this exceptional achievement!

I am proud of our employees’ ongoing support for the community and our charity partner, Living Hungry. This spring, our office took part in a collection of items to help fill “Good Time Packs” for local homeless children. We presented more than 15 boxes of approximately 2,500 items to Living Hungry Founder & CEO Maura Plante. 

“If you are a teen or child without a roof over your head, summertime in Florida can be long, lonely and hot without life’s basic necessities,” says Plante. “Thanks to the kindness of Anne Gannon’s caring team, local families living in cars, motels and shelters this summer will have something to look forward to with “Good Time Packs” of books, journals, games — thank you, staff!”

Living Hungry is a Delray Beach charity, dedicated to eliminating food insecurity experienced by homeless students in Palm Beach County.  In addition to food items, the “Good Time Packs” include stickers, crayons and small toys for the children Living Hungry serves.  For more information about the great work that Living Hungry does for the community, visit https://livinghungry.org/.

Title: Chief Financial Officer
Favorite Dessert: Sweet potato pie
Favorite Trip: Alaskan Cruise
Favorite Book: Where the Crawdads Sing

In this edition of “Faces of the TCO,” I want to introduce you to our Chief Financial Officer, Carmen C. Richardson. If you have ever wondered who oversees the disbursements of $5.8 billion in taxes, licenses and fees to the Palm Beach County taxing authorities, it is Carmen and her fantastic Finance & Budget team. With over thirty years of experience in accounting, Carmen is truly a seasoned pro. Her responsibilities extend beyond disbursing the monies that fund Palm Beach County, she and her team also oversee accounting, procurement, budgeting, payroll, and everything in- between. “It is the diversity that keeps my work challenging and fulfilling,” says Richardson. Carmen lives by a simple yet powerful mantra: “Do the right thing, even when no one is looking.” This philosophy extends to how she leads her team, emphasizing “integrity and accuracy” and always fostering “learning and growth.” Of course, she’s quick to add that it helps immensely that she has “a great team.”

Carmen and her team face several challenges including, keeping up with changing laws, and regulations and, safeguarding sensitive financial data from cyber threats.  A big “thank you” to Carmen for sharing a glimpse into her world. It is reassuring knowing that the disbursements of our tax dollars are in such capable hands!