Pet Lane

Any time you open a new location, you wonder if people will like the decisions you’ve made, and if the hard work will pay off. That happens if you’re a business owner or a general manager.

Or even the Pasco County Tax Collector.

“You’re always concerned about ‘If you build it, will they come?’” said Tax Collector Mike Fasano, referencing the iconic line from the movie “Field of Dreams.”

Six weeks after the county opened its newest tax collector’s office at 4610 Pet Lane, off Wesley Chapel Boulevard in Lutz, Fasano has his answer: They’re coming.

The county set a modest goal of around 125 to 175 customers a day as a start for the location. But less than two months later, they’re seeing 240 on a normal office day, Fasano said.

Even on the weekend, when the office is open for limited hours, people are taking advantage. The location gets around 200 customers during their Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“It’s the area needing the service,” Fasano said. “Wesley Chapel, the Lutz area and west Zephyrhills is growing. The service was needed there.

“They have a location go to now, and not have to travel either to Dade City or all the way to Land O’ Lakes on U.S. 41.”

That decision appears to have advantages as well. Purchasing land and building an office was an earlier consideration, but would have cost several million dollars and delayed the opening by a few years. And when the decision to lease space at The Grove fell through, the current location at Compark 75 proved to be a viable alternative that offered a larger area for driving tests.

As a result, the chosen location allowed the county to have the site up and running in around six months and for less than $1 million, Fasano said.

In addition to the office’s most popular services — obtaining and renewing driver’s licenses and vehicle registration renewals — the full-service location also handles birth certificates, paying property taxes, and obtaining occupational, hunting and  fishing licenses.
And many residents are taking advantage of the driver’s license testing, Fasano said. He attributes the testing’s popularity to area demographics.

“We have a lot of young families in Wesley Chapel,” he said. “We are seeing a larger amount of young people that we are providing that service to than I expected.”

The tax collector’s office could have a new service to offer customers in 2015 as well. Thanks to a new law that allows approved tax collectors to accept applications for concealed weapons licenses, the county’s offices will be able to file them for residents with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

It should take about a year for the Pasco offices to be involved in the rollout, Fasano said.

Comment cards have revealed positive reviews and customer satisfaction with the new location and its services, but Fasano understands that a trip to the tax collector’s office rarely is cause for celebration.

But there’s a focus on keeping wait times down — there are no appointments — for those who need services performed in a timely manner, Fasano said. In some cases, customers might wait 45 minutes to an hour at peak times, but many are getting their tasks accomplished in 20 minutes or less.

While customer traffic can be unpredictable, Fasano suggests doing business in the middle of the month if possible, as people are often renewing auto tags at the end of the month. Wednesdays might be less busy than other days of the week as well, he said.

And customers can save themselves multiple trips by making sure they have all the necessary identification and accepted proofs of residency the first time they come in. Document requirements can be found at PascoTaxes.com.

The location’s customer traffic is growing and people are using the services it offers, which makes Fasano feel good about the decisions and preparations that went into its opening.

“I’m extremely pleased,” he said. “It’s not only met our expectations, but exceeded our expectations.”

Published September 24, 2014

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