Hamilton County Clerk Bill KnowlesHamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles announced today his office remitted more than $1.4 million in excess fees to the county general government in 2016.
This brings the total excess fees turned over by the office to nearly $5.6 million since 2013, Knowles said. The office generated much of those fees by providing additional work for the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the Tennessee Department of Safety and the City of Chattanooga.
"It's a pleasure taking on added responsibilities to help busy Hamilton County taxpayers," Knowles said. "These projects include making Chattanooga's $5 sticker available when motorists renew a state vehicle registration, printing duplicate vehicle titles on demand, renewing a state driver's license at the Courthouse office, and processing large fleet orders for the transportation industry. Each of these functions is an extra dimension of service provided taxpayers."
In March, Knowles announced the Hamilton County Clerk's Office was one of several clerk offices selected to pilot the state's new Vehicle Title and Registration System (VTRS).
"Once fully implemented, the enhancement will aid in the digital communication between counties and the State Vehicle Services Office," he said. 'This will greatly improve efficiency, functionality and communication pertaining to vehicle title transactions across Tennessee."
VTRS will provide tools to strengthen the state's financial responsibility law, allow vehicle dealers to issue web-based drive-out tags and improve ordering and tracking of license plate inventory in each county.
"I commend my dedicated office team for the diligent work they do throughout the year serving citizens so efficiently," Knowles said.