Six days into the new fiscal year, Halifax County is already looking at ways to make county government more efficient and avoid dipping into its fund balance for the next year.

After awarding a new contract for digital copiers and fax machines, County Manager Tony Brown told commissioners today the savings the county saw in the new contract is just one of the ways it is looking to streamline government.

Brown said the county is also exploring having centralized printers instead of individual desk printers.

The commissioners directed during budget negotiations for this fiscal year’s financial plan to find ways to make government more efficient after the county used $2 million from its fund balance to balance this year’s financial document.

The county is also trying to help taxpayers by working with them, Tax Collector Pam Harris told commissioners.

“It’s been a tough economic year,” she told the board before asking for its permission to authorize an order to collect taxes and approve the tax settlement and insolvent list. “It’s hard,” she said. “We’ve heard a lot of hard luck stories.”

Taxes become delinquent January 5 but the county will try to work with people having trouble paying their tax bills.

If someone owes back taxes their payment will clear the current year first, Harris explained. “We’re trying to keep collections as high as possible.”

Meanwhile, the board approved accounts receivable write-offs totaling $839,083.44 as uncollected debt for the health department, EMS and public utilities.

Finance Director Linda Taylor told commissioners staff will continue to try to collect that money.

In another matter today, Economic Development Director Cathy Scott told the board the unemployment rate had slightly decreased. It is currently 12.1 percent, compared to 13.1 percent the previous year and 6.1 percent in 2000.

The Halifax County labor force is 24,314 and there are 2,954 unemployed people in the county.

The county lost 21 private companies last year and 50 jobs were lost in manufacturing. “Wages continued upward albeit small,” Scott said.