Hello, welcome to the Careers4Kids podcast where kids learn careers.
This is Maxwell Valencia.
And this is Henry Morrison.
Today, we have Christine Allison, a tax collector.
Hello, Miss Allison.
Hey there, how are you guys today?
We're good.
And thank you so much for spending your time to be on Careers for Kids.
We hope we have a good afternoon.
Now let's get started.
So, tell us what you currently do right now.
I am currently the tax collector for the town of Westport.
So tell us more about your job as a tax collector.
Well, I'll be the tax collector, but more in depth.
So as a tax collector, we are responsible for collecting the taxes on houses, cars,
and businesses, and also for sewers.
So with that being said, we collect all the money and then the town uses that money for
expenses like tolls and roads, library, age center, and all those great things that people
in Westport get to use.
So what part of your job do you enjoy the most and dislike the most?
I really like the people I work with in town hall and the taxpayers are always very nice
when they come in.
They are usually very happy to pay their taxes because they know that the money is used for
those things that I had spoken about earlier.
You know, the parks and police force and the firemen and the beautiful beach that you have.
So most people are pretty good with paying their taxes because they know it's going
something good.
Every once in a while we'll get someone that is a little bit disagreeable.
Usually they say they didn't get a bill or maybe they paid it late and they had to pay
some interest on it.
So those are the difficulties.
What's the percentage of interest if you pay late overtime?
So tax collectors are actually governed by the state of Connecticut and they have special
laws that tell us we have to charge at least one and a half percent per month.
Well, not at least, it is one and a half percent per month going back to the due date.
So if you paid your bill in July, it was due in August.
Once you go past that August 1st due date, then you get charged one and a half percent
for July and one and a half percent for August.
So was this like the dream job you imagined yourself doing when you were a kid?
Well, honestly, I really wanted to be a mom.
That was my goal and I did become a mom.
But originally I had started in college for nursing, but back in my day it wasn't required
in high school, so when I got to chemistry in the college level it was a little too difficult
for me.
So that's kind of cool.
I mean, you went through with your dream in some way, so a lot of people don't.
So that's something to be proud of.
Yeah.
And who were your main idols when you were young?
Well, I know it sounds kind of sappy, but I was always really fond of my dad and I always
watched him and what he did and he always went to work and he always strived to be one
of the best at his job.
But I also, there was a woman, or she was a young girl at the time during the summer
Olympics back when I was a kid.
Her name was Olga Corbett and she was very famous.
I think it was in 1972 actually when I was a kid.
So yeah, I kind of looked up to her.
I thought that was neat.
So like, why did you pick this job?
Out of all the jobs, why did you pick this job?
So I kind of fell into the tax collecting.
I went to school for the nursing, but then changed career paths.
I've kind of been on a zigzag path.
Went to school for graphic arts and then I did that for about a year and a half and then
I went into banking.
So I did that for quite a while.
Then I was a stay-at-home mom for a while and then I got my hairdressing license because
then I could work part-time when my boys were small.
And then I went back into banking and then I was offered a job here at Town Hall part-time
to start.
So I started at three days a week and three hours a day for those days that I worked.
And then I just kind of kept learning and growing and I ended up really liking it.
So here I am.
So what was your career before this and what made you move on from it?
I already know that you wanted to be a mom.
Yeah, so I, well once your children get into school and then you're kind of at home and
you don't have as much to do when your kids are in school, so I decided to go back to
work.
So I did a few things in between and I came to the town of Westport in 2015.
So what was the biggest highlight of your career?
So the biggest highlight of tax collecting was that we did have to go back to school
when I was hired full-time.
And it's a two-year program.
You have to take four classes and pass each class and then a final exam to get your certification.
So me going back to school in my 50s, I felt like it was a pretty big accomplishment, at
least for me at that time.
So so far that's a big accomplishment.
What a big highlight.
I have another question.
What are the biggest challenges that you think can be solved by our generation that you'd
want us to solve for you?
Well, I guess you guys are way smarter than I was at a younger age.
Kids know so much more than we knew at your age.
I guess just getting information out there.
I have to say that one thing about tax collecting is that tax collectors are definitely misunderstood,
not really liked for the most part.
But you know, nobody likes to pay taxes.
It is something that we all have to do.
And like I had mentioned earlier that, you know, the taxes go for excellent things.
You know, in Westport, that's one of the best school systems in the nation.
So that's really something to be said about.
And very safe here.
So the police and fire take good care of you.
And all these things that I collect money for goes towards having a great town to live
in.
So if you can inform any of your fellow students about that, because a lot of people just say,
you know, taxes are yuck, which is true.
But maybe if people knew more about what it's used for, they wouldn't be so resistant to
pay.
Yeah.
Like I remember when I was younger, I was like, why the heck are there taxes in my thing?
It's extra money being sent.
But then I realized what the point of taxes like to build roads, to build schools and
many other things.
Infrastructure is a big part of the country.
It's everybody like it gets the average person moving and getting around on a day to day
basis.
Kind of amazing.
Yeah.
And if someone wants to follow in your footsteps in your careers, what would you tell him slash
her?
I would say that math is an important thing to have.
Not that we do any kind of calculus or anything here, but knowing addition, subtraction, multiplication,
we have to figure out percentages and things.
So math is always helpful.
And then customer service skills are very helpful too.
So you always want to try to deescalate a situation and help the person as best you
can be understanding and try to solve the problem rather than, well, that's just how
it is.
You know, that doesn't accomplish anything and everyone just gets upset.
So those are two good things to have is the math and customer service skills and patience,
perseverance.
So what is your main life advice for kids listening to this podcast?
I would say, I mean, any career that you pick.
I had a son that went through college and then got his master's degree and he actually
could not find a job in his field for about six months.
So he was getting discouraged, but he took a job at Best Buy and worked there for six
months until he found a position in his career.
And I kept telling him, I said, don't get discouraged, you know, if you don't get your
dream job right away.
Each experience is not wasted time and you always build on what you learn and you will
always keep growing.
And another thing is, you know, just keep challenging yourself.
I get excited to learn every day.
I think I'll be a lifetime learner.
All of this should be, you know, it's exciting to learn new things, whether it be, ah, I
have a hobby or, you know, something to do with your work.
Let's try with things like don't ever think that something that you do is a waste of time
because you never know when you're going to draw back on that experience.
So thank you so much, Ms. Allison, for a long, long interview.
We're sure way more kids will be inspired by this interview.
Thank you for listening.
Thanks for listening to the podcast.
Hope you enjoyed the episode.
We'll see you in the next one.
Bye.
Bye for now.