Published: July 22, 2008 09:31 am         

The good news: Parker County tax office recycles. The bad news: They don’t shred

By Carman Williams

Lone Star News Group

Most people encourage recycling, but one local woman was concerned by what she found in a recycling bin last week.

The woman, who asked not to be named, was bringing paper to the recycling bin outside Crockett Elementary and noticed one of the bins was filled to the top with official-looking papers.

“I thought to myself, ‘What did I just see in that bin?’” she said.

What she saw were original receipts from the Parker County Appraisal District.

The receipts contain taxpayer’s names, addresses, transaction amounts, taxable values of property and tax exception codes such as “over 65,” “homestead,” “disabled” and “veteran.”

The majority of the receipts are dated November 2007.

“I saw what they were and just put them in my sacks,” the woman said. “It just doesn’t seem like that information should be out there for some dishonest person to grab.”

The data on the receipts is included in the public record, which means it is available on the Internet or in the county appraisal office.

But according to the FTC Web site, even information on the public record should be guarded.

“Companies or institutions that keep personal information about you have an obligation to safeguard it,” the site reads.

Larry Hammonds, chief appraiser for Parker County, said he had no prior knowledge of the receipts being taken to a public recycling bin.

After questioning appraisal employees, he found one man routinely takes shredded paperwork to the Crockett recycling bin because the school receives money for it.

He apparently found a box containing the dated receipts and took it to be recycled as well.

Hammonds was concerned about the receipts being found in the recycling bin, but said he didn’t think there was any harm done.

He noted there was no private information on the receipts.

“People could come into our office or go online to find that information,” he said.

Hammonds added the county appraisal district uses few paper hard copies and typically sends original receipts to the taxpayers.

He also said the company uses its own dumpster to discard trash.

The woman who found the receipts said she hoped the county would take more care in the future.

“Whoever had these should have been more responsible about disposing of it,” she said. “It’s not like a shredder costs a lot these days.”