Feb. 3, 2009 — St. John's property-tax collections office and the Tax Assessor's Office, both functions of the Lieutenant Governor's Office, are now located at the Islandia Building.
"Because the tax collector and the tax assessor are interlinked, we needed to find a space where the offices could be combined," said Shawna Richards, spokeswoman at the Lieutenant Governor's Office, on Tuesday.
In addition to making it more work-friendly for employees, she said the combined offices are also more customer-friendly.
"Which is our main priority," Richards said.
Until the two offices moved just before the Christmas holiday, the Tax Assessor's Office was located at the Battery. The Tax Collector's Office was housed in the trailer that also serves as home to the Motor Vehicle Bureau.
Richards said she couldn't comment on the amount of rent paid at the privately owned Islandia Building, located on Centerline Road just past the Boulon Center.
The Lieutenant Governor's Office plans to move the Passport Division from its current location at the Battery to the Islandia Building. Currently Passport Division staff visit St. John Tuesdays and Thursdays to accept passport applications for processing, but Richards said once the Islandia building office opens, the Passport Division will be staffed five days a week.
The expansion of the range of services offered to the St. John community reflects Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis' commitment to improved customer service, he said in a news release.
"Our customers on St. John deserve the access and convenience to conduct business that the residents of their sister islands enjoy," he said.
Changes at the Lieutenant Governor's Office are not the only ones that have happened on St. John. Over the past few years, a continually increasing number of departments and agencies regularly visit St. John, with most using a small office at the Battery to serve St. John residents. This saves St. John residents a trip to St. Thomas.
The Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department currently has a full-time office at the Battery. But Licensing and the Public Services Commission, which shares the Licensing office, are moving to the Motor Vehicle Bureau building once the space gets fixed up, according to St. John Administrator Leona Smith.
Currently the PSC only has staff on St. John twice a week, but someone will be available Monday through Friday at the new office, Smith said.
The Internal Revenue Bureau is also located full time at the Motor Vehicle Bureau. The Planning and Natural Resources Department is located at the Marketplace shopping center. The Elections Board is located at the beginning of Route 108 next to the Julius E. Sprauve School woodworking shop.
At the Battery, both the local and federal Veterans Affairs Departments visit once a month. The Housing Finance Authority uses the Battery office by appointment. An attorney from the attorney general's offices visits weekly. Other agencies come by appointment.
"It's more convenient for St. Johnians," Smith said.
To confirm when agencies and departments are on hand, call the Battery at 776-6484. The telephone number for the lieutenant governor's St. John office is 776-6737.
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