If you are one of the millions of Harris County residents who own a car, pay property taxes, or are registered to vote, you have dealings with the Harris County Tax Office. Paul Bettencourt heads that agency. He took office in 1998, succeeding an officeholder who had been in place for more than half a century. One of Bettencourt's his first missions in office was to reduce the length of time that people doing business in the Tax Office had to spend in line. Average wait times in person at the tax office windows are 15 minutes in 2008.

Using technology, efficiency, and service, Paul Bettencourt committed the Harris County Tax Office to deliver a concept he dubbed Smart Government. This means he has committed his administration to accountability to the taxpayer.

The positive results of these efforts are visible in our cyber-motto inviting you to “get online instead of in line” at the Tax Office. The public use of automated transactions in automobile registration, property tax payments, and voter registration services has skyrocketed by saving Tax Office customers their time. Over 51,000 phone calls were answered live during the Novemebr 2004 Election by 200 cross trained office employees. 

Under Bettencourt, the 470-person Tax Office team endeavors to be accountable. The Tax Office, in ten years, has implemented new systems in automobile registration and titling, property tax services, and voter registration.