A lot has changed in the borough of Lansford since 1984. But one thing that has been consistent over that time is the service of tax collector Daniel Wynn.

After 32 years on the job, Wynn announced his retirement earlier this month. He says the announcement caught longtime borough residents by surprise."Some people are beside themselves because I'm retiring. It's a great honor, because all I ever did was take money from them," he joked.Lansford borough council actually held off on accepting Wynn's resignation so they have more time to find his replacement.Wynn, 67, still speaks passionately about his job, especially the residents he served. He can still recall dates and figures that he calculated decades ago.Education was a lifelong goal for Wynn. He said he tried to learn as much about his position so he could help residents navigate the complicated system of borough, school and county taxes.On Friday, people stopped into his office not only to pay their bills, but to get housing advice and catch up on news from around Lansford."I learned as much as I could about the job and impart it to the people. There are a lot of older people in this town, a lot of the time they're living independently, and they need help with a lot of things," he said.Wynn said those longtime residents of the borough have been a strong motivation for him as tax collector over the years. He recalled how the borough has changed over the years. One of the big changes is the shift from owner-occupied residences to rental homes, many of which are owned by landlords who live outside the borough."There are many, many rentals now, and those checks come from out of state. The local people still like to come in to the office," he said.Unfortunately the number of properties that are delinquent in their tax bills has also increased. Wynn recalled that in his first year on the job, he filed liens against 218 properties that were delinquent in their taxes. He said last year that number was 450.The number of properties sold at tax sales has gone up as a result.He said the people who fall behind on their taxes are not always the ones you expect. He knows elderly people living on less than $800 per month who still pay their taxes. At the same time, there are people making six figures who are delinquent.With the advent of computer accounting software, the job of the tax collector is much different from what it was 30 years ago. But he still manages to do his job without help from a computer."Computers are still dumb machines, and they can do dumb things if you're not paying attention," he said.Wynn said that he plans on staying on the job until his replacement is able to get up and running. After that, he'll be leaving the borough office, but not the area. He plans to continue serving with local organizations like the borough's Little League and Italian Mutual Society."I wouldn't want to go to a populous place now. This town has been my whole life, and I plan to stay here," he said.