After a week of set up and adjustment, the Lincoln County TaxAssessor’s Office is now handling the duties of garbage billcollection at full steam.

Tax Assessor Nancy Jordan said the longtime plan to move theSolid Waste Department out of Finance and Administration on thesecond floor of the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complexand into her office on the ground floor was finally carried outlast week for the benefit of the public.

“It’s better for the public and that’s who we’re here for,” shesaid. “This is where it should have been all along. You havehandicapped people, mothers with small children and some that justhave a hard time walking, and it makes it tough on them to have togo upstairs to pay their garbage bills.”

Jordan said one new employee was hired in her office to operate apermanent computer terminal at which garbage bills will be paid.Now, she said, county residents will be able to take care of anytax collection, purchase their car tags and pay their garbage billall in one place.

County Administrator David Fields, whose office formerly handledthe garbage payments, said the transition will stop taxpayers fromhaving to constantly travel between the two offices when handlingtheir tax and car tag affairs.

“It saves people from standing in line, finding out they have agarbage bill due, having to get out of line, go upstairs and payand come all the way back down and get in the back of the line,” hesaid.

Fields stressed that his office will still be handling 911addressing, and anyone in the county who moves to a new addresswill need to visit his office before handling duties in the taxassessor’s office.

“We’ll go through the procedure and get the information down to thesolid waste office,” he said.