MONTGOMERY, Sept. 23, 2019 – The Alabama Department of Revenue is pleased to announce that Derrick Coleman, Director of the Property Tax Division, has been promoted to the position of Deputy Commissioner of Revenue, effective October 1. Coleman has been with the department since September 1993, when he began his career in the Vehicle Valuation Section of the Property Tax Division.

“I am confident that Derrick’s experience and leadership will continue to move the department forward as we strive to raise our level of customer service while implementing new approaches to tax administration,” said Revenue Commissioner Vernon Barnett.

Over the course of his career, Coleman has served the Property Tax Division working in the Vehicle Valuation Section, as supervisor of the Real Property Section, and with the Field Operations Section as Field Operations Supervisor where he cultivated relationships with the local county tax officials and their staffs. He was named division director in 2015.

When faced with difficult and/or challenging situations, Coleman believes in this saying: “The man who moves a mountain begins by first carrying away small stones.”

During Coleman’s time as director, the Property Tax Division:

• Developed and deployed the Optional Personal Property Assessment Link (OPPAL), which made possible the electronic filing of business personal property returns statewide;
• Updated the Alabama Appraisal Manual that has been utilized by all 67 county appraisal offices to establish the market value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes;
• Updated the Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) Specifications used by all vendors who service the local Property Tax Administration Software Systems;
• Automated the compilation and distribution of Tax Delinquent Property Price Quotes to taxpayers who applied to purchase tax delinquent property from department inventory; and
• Streamlined the process used to annually estimate the market value of vehicles for ad valorem tax purposes.

Coleman serves as ADOR representative on the GIS Executive Committee and is a member of the Auburn University Government and Economic Development Institute (GEDI) advisory board.

When away from the office, Coleman enjoys attending Alabama State University football games to cheer on the Mighty Marching Hornet Band, discovering and eating good southern cooking, assisting in teaching the adult Sunday School Class at church, singing with the church Male Chorus, and spending lots of time with family and friends.