The Beaufort County Tax Office recently won an award for its continued hard work to the administration of local property taxation.

The Office was presented the Joseph E. Hunt Distinguished Jurisdiction Award — Small Jurisdiction at the North Carolina Association of Assessing Officers’ annual Fall Conference, according to a NCAAO press release. Bobby Parker, tax assessor with the Beaufort County Tax Office, said he received the award from NCAAO President Greta Skeen at the conference, which was held Nov. 20 in Wilmington.

According to the release, the award is designed to recognize three jurisdictions annually: a small, medium and large jurisdiction. It is presented in recognition of outstanding achievement in tax administration and public service. Selected jurisdictions often have found innovative ways to solve problems, educated the public and/or increase efficiency in tax administration, the release said.

Parker said his Office submitted an application to the NCAAO and received word of winning the award. Parker’s Office has been implementing new software in its land records department and a new computer assisted mass appraisal (CAMA), which transitioned the Office’s present system, Keystone, to a Farragut system. In the midst of the transition, Parker’s Office met its deadline for tax notices — something Parker says is one of the primary reasons the Office received the award, he said.

“We had to go in there as human beings and try to make it (transition) work, and get it so we could get a tax notice out,” Parker said. “We made it the first of October. It took a lot of hard work, patience and anything else we had to do it get it out, and we made it. That’s one of the things they really noticed.”

Cindy Ambrose, an assistant tax assessor with the Beaufort County Tax Office, echoed Parker’s comments about the work ethic necessary for the Office to receive the award.

“It means a lot to us,” Ambrose said. “The system they have given us to work with has been a challenge, but we worked hard and that’s what got us the award.”

Beaufort County Manager Randell Woodruff commented on the Office’s recent accolade, illustrating its hard work.

“We’re very proud of them and pleased with the good work they’re doing,” Woodruff said. “They’ve been extremely busy this year — the whole tax administration staff — as they’re in the process of converting to a new software system. So they’ve really been working extremely hard to get everything done that’s required as a part of the process.”