Denton County commissioners are using $2.6 million to address some growing pains at the Sandy Jacobs Government Center in Carrollton.
On the planning list for the last few years, county officials finally have the time and are using the funds to get it done.
“It’s just very cramped in there right now,” said Michelle French, tax assessor/collector. “The new area will allow those customers to be much more comfortable when they come in.”
The Carrollton office, one of five tax offices in the county including the main office in Denton, does get its fair share of traffic, French said, especially toward the end of the month when registration renewals are due and toward the end of the taxpaying season.
“More counter space for our staff members will allow us to better serve our customers,” French said. “They won’t be so cramped and the staff can move around the office easier. We will [always] service the public to the best of our ability, but this will allow us to queue the line in a lot better than they way it is right now.”
French said the old space can serve as an overflow room.
Mike Tubiolo, construction manager for the county, said that in addition to the tax office, plans are to expand the building on the east side and give some extra space to other departments, including spaces allotted to the justice of the peace and the constable.
Tubiolo said there will be two separate entrances after work is complete — one on the east side and one on the west — to keep foot traffic flowing smoothly throughout the building.
Commissioners awarded the construction contract to Ratliff Constructors LP with funds from the Trip 08 bond package approved by Denton County voters in 2008.
Ratliff Constructors is coming off work on the county’s juvenile center expansion project and the work on that led the county to give the company the nod for the Carrollton government center, Tubiolo said.
He said the county continues to work to phase in the projects approved in the bond election.
“It’s a little tough to do at once,” he said. “We didn’t want to have a big impact on the taxpayers and decided to step back and do a couple of projects every year,” he said. “There is less impact, and honestly it’s better on me to spread them out and do a better job managing projects one or two at a time.”
The project is slated for completion in June.
