State group honors Pat Simrall|[8/23/06]

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Warren County Tax Collector Pat Simrall has been recognized by her peers with a distinquished service award.

Simrall, 59, elected to her post three times, received the prize from the Mississippi Assessors and Collectors Association at the group’s annual banquet Aug. 2.

&#8220I was quite surprised I won it,” Simrall said. &#8220I was very honored they voted for me to have it.”

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The great-grandaughter of Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Horatio Fleming Simrall will serve as the association’s first vice president in the upcoming year. She will serve as president in 2007-08, she said.

Simrall is one of 23 tax collectors in Mississippi whose post is independent of the tax assessor. In smaller counties, one person is elected to establish values and track collections.

&#8220There’s not a whole lot of us who are just collectors,” she said. Simrall was first appointed to office in 1993 and won a third term in 2003 when she was unopposed.

Over the course of her tenure, employees and fellow elected leaders have come to respect Simrall as a firm, effective steward of the public trust.

&#8220You don’t find that many elected officials as honest and dedicated as Pat,” District 5 Supervisor Richard George said. &#8220She sees the public is served properly and efficiently.”

&#8220I respect Pat highly,” said Deputy Tax Collector Hoprey Sibley. &#8220People of Warren County just don’t know how much she cares for them as people. She’s strict, but very organized. She loves people as people.”

The tax collector is responsible for collecting taxes when due and properly turning over collections to county and state funds. In Warren County, the tax collector is also the receiving agent for most City of Vicksburg taxes. People also purchase vehicle tags and business licenses from Simrall’s office in the Warren County Courthouse.

The Mississippi Assessors and Collectors Association acts as a liaison organization among its members, the Mississippi State Tax Commission, county boards of supervisors and taxpayers. The group works for uniform standards in the state’s 82 counties.