Tax Talk: April 2025

Publishing our organization’s annual report is a huge undertaking each year.  Data for the report is gathered from many of our departments in order to accurately and fully detail our performance during the previous fiscal year.  As you can imagine, this can be tedious when working with dollar amounts in the billions and servicing numbers in the hundreds of thousands.  My team did a fantastic job pulling this together and I am pleased to present our “Report to Our Citizens” for fiscal year 2023-24.

This year’s report has been thoughtfully designed to present the data and information in an organized fashion to highlight the efforts and initiatives undertaken by my office.  Among our areas of focus this past fiscal year were improving communication, continuing to enhance our online service, and expanding the convenience and availability of the vehicle registration renewal kiosks throughout the county.

There is a great deal of valuable information in this 16-page report and I encourage you to review it by visiting www.pbctax.gov/annual-report where you can also request a copy be mailed to you.

Title: Chief Information Officer
Hometown: Plantation, Florida
Favorite Activity: Four-wheeling
Favorite Food: Steak and Potatoes
Favorite Movie: Star Wars 

Whether you transact with us in person, by mail or online, you are interacting with systems that have been put in place by our dedicated Information Technology (IT) team, a department that often goes unnoticed. Joe Sverak, Chief Information Officer, oversees our IT department of sixteen team members who manage and safeguard the stability of our equipment and technology, which includes everything from computers and software to the servers that keep everything afloat. They are part of the fabric that binds the organization together.  When asked about the role that he and his team play at the TCO he said, “there is more to IT than just computers; there are a lot of moving parts behind the scenes, which means there are often several ways to do something, and I give my team the latitude to explore those options.” 

Joe tells us that his approach to tackling challenges or problems is “taking the time to come together to understand the issue and make sure everyone is on the same page.” He emphasizes that computer security and improving staff experience are among his department’s top priorities. 

When the topic of artificial intelligence arose, Joe had this to say, “AI can’t replace what our people do, but can accelerate our processes” noting that “the benefits outweigh the potential consequences with the proper policies and managed approach.” 

With 13 years at the TCO and extensive experience, Joe was asked what career he would choose if he had not chosen IT, and he quickly answered, “an automotive mechanic.” Joe, we are glad that you chose IT and we value the integral part you and your team play for our organization’s success.

The Town of Jupiter is celebrating its 100^th birthday this year and our organization took part in the Centennial Celebration by participating in the Jupiter Jubilee.  This event is Jupiter’s biggest hometown celebration and the Town’s official birthday party!  It was a great day of celebrating with our neighbors in the North County.  TCO employees were on hand to answer questions about TCO services and distribute informational materials.  

Thank you to our staff for volunteering their time to share their expertise with attendees.  We all look forward to this event to provide outreach to our North County residents. 

If you missed us at the Jubilee, visit us at these upcoming community events:  Palm Beach Pride, March 29 & 30 at Bryant Park in Downtown Lake Worth Beach and the Black Gold Jubilee, April 12 at Torrey Island Campground in Belle Glade.