The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted to collect property taxes twice a year at Thursday’s board meeting.

After discussing potential issues, the commission agreed to follow the law that requires property owners to pay their taxes twice — once by Aug. 1 and once by Dec. 1.

The issue was first discussed last June when a longtime Hall County resident informed the commission of an old law mandating the county to send out biannual tax bills.

Currently, ad valorem taxes are due just once a year on Dec. 1. It is unclear when or why the county stopped sending out two bills.

In November, 69 percent of Hall County residents said "yes" to paying ad valorem taxes in two installments at the polls on a nonbinding referendum, or survey, question.

"I was amazed by the non-binding referendum," said Commissioner Steve Gailey. "To me that’s a mandate itself."

In 1974, residents voted on a constitutional amendment that would authorize Hall County to divide taxes into two annual payments. In the same year, the Georgia legislature passed a statewide act that granted counties the ability to collect taxes either once or twice a year. In 1975, the same legislature passed a local act directing Hall County to collect taxes twice a year, according to County Attorney Bill Blalock.

The commission was split on the issue, but eventually came to a 4-1 vote. Chairman Tom Oliver voted against sending out two tax bills.

It is too late to send out a tax bill due this August, so the county will begin sending out two tax bills in 2010.

In other business, Hall County Administrator Charley Nix recommended the commission vote to allow the county to charge convenience fees to property owners who pay their taxes with a credit card in person.

Currently, the county charges a 2.59 percent fee to pay taxes with a credit card online, but the county absorbs the cost of credit card fees when people pay in person.

"We are probably losing around $200,000 if you annualize this," Nix said.

The commission voted unanimously to charge the convenience fee at the tax commissioners office.