Accomack County Board of Supervisors Meeting

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met on Wednesday, January 5th at the Board Chambers in Accomack. This was an organizational meeting and but was also opened up for public comment on a proposal for the Mary N. Smith Middle School building in Accomac.

Supervisor Donald Hart has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Out-going Chair, Laura Belle Gordy, was elected to serve as Vice-Chair. The new Chairman presented Supervisor Gordy with a plaque of appreciation, calling her a lady of class and thanking her for her service.
The Board voted unanimously to keep regular meetings for the upcoming the year the same, which is the third Wednesday of each month beginning at 5:00 p.m. Work sessions will be held quarterly or when called.

Ethan Brenner of Painter, and a member of the FIRST Robotics Team, was allowed to address the board and invited them to an upcoming Season Kickoff. That event will be held locally for the first time and will be Saturday, January 8th at 9:00 a.m. at the NASA Wallops Visitor Center. The board congratulated Brenner on the Teams Efforts.

Wednesday nights meeting was Supervisor Steve Malletes last. Mallette resigned from the board of supervisors in November. The board discussed how to fill the position and voted unanimously for the following process: The position is now open to interested parties from district 6. Anyone who would like to be considered must submit a letter and or resume to the County Administrator by 5:00 p.m. on January 10th. There will be a Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, January 12th at 5:00 p.m. so the board can meet and talk with each interested individual. These people are allowed to bring supporters who wish to speak on their behalf. Chairman Hart emphasized that he wants a positive meeting and that negative remarks about those seeking the position will not be tolerated. Should the board decide to appoint a Supervisor, that person will be sworn in on January 13th, and will have the necessary materials to prepare him or her for the regular January 19th meeting. The newly appointed supervisor will fulfill Mallettes term and the seat will be up for reelection in January 2012.

Hart also reminded the board that he would like them to make a decision with the publics input to avoid a judge from Virginia Beach having to appoint one, due to the fact that the eastern shore has no resident judge at this time.

Several citizens attended this meeting concerning the fate of the Mary N Smith Middle School building. A presentation was made by Mr. David Koogler of Mark-Dana Corporation and numerous residents of what is known as the Mary N. Smith Community as well as other shore citizens made their opinions known. www.shoredaylynews.com

Accomack County Supervisors Still Have NO Answers

By Linda Spence

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met on Wednesday, November 17, at the board chambers in Accomac.

Well, the top 20 delinquent tax payers don't have to be concerned about their names being in lights, on a big sign that is, but Supervisor Donald Hart isn't letting them off easy. Hart stated that these people have owed this money for a long time. Hart went on to say it's not fair to the low income, fixed income, elderly and other citizens who pay their taxes on time. The board agreed that the names of those delinquent tax payers will be put in big, bold letters in an advertisement in both local papers. To avoid this from happening, these county property owners need to pay up now.

Several citizens addressed the board during the public comment part of the meeting, including Accomack County Citizen Toni Trepanier; Trepanier asked the board why the county has citizens social security numbers to begin with. She said the county doesnt extend credit and she has never asked for credit and doesn't understand they have her social security number. Trepanier was referring to the county's stolen laptop that contained citizens' private information.
Concerning that stolen laptop, County Administrator Steve Miner gave an update. He reported that he has met with the Counties insurance advisors and their IT Specialists who made a number of recommendations that are being implemented, including encrypted software that is being installed. He also stated that the County Attorney's office is set up for any claims of fraud. According to Miner, there have been no reported cases of fraud that are affiliated with the stolen laptop and he encourages the citizens to remain vigilant.

According to County Attorney Mark Taylor, the notice provided by the county regarding the laptop theft complied and was approved by the VA Attorney General's Office. He stated that they have no information at this point that anyones identity information has been misused as a result of this theft. He continued, "it is most likely that the information has been cleared and the laptop has been resold. We would like to think that happened, but we cannot and have not proceeded on that basis. We have tried our best to protect our citizens without educating the crook on what could be on the computer."

And there's another crisis in the county, but this one has 4 legs. There's simply too many cats that are unvaccinated which can easily contribute to feline disease and most importantly rabies. Supervisor Ron Wolff had led the proposed idea of requiring cats to be licensed, but after talking to citizens and learning more about the issue, now believes that licensing will not achieve what he had hoped. He withdrew his attempt to license cats and the board voted unanimously to find a group of citizens who can come up with possibilities to help find a solution for the rabies and overpopulation problem.
www.shoredailynews.com

Accomack Sells WRONG Property At Auction

HALLWOOD -- A Hallwood resident came home recently to find a man hauling his possessions out of his house after it was mistakenly sold by Accomack County in an auction to collect delinquent taxes.

Eugene L. Justice owns the house at 12211 Mears Station Road in Hallwood, but it is shown on the county tax maps as belonging to the owners of the property next door -- an empty lot that was supposed to have been sold for back taxes.

That property is owned by C. Sheppard and Emma Griffin, according to county records.

Justice's mother, Dorothy Justice, who lives nearby, said her son called her and told her a man with sunglasses was at the house, telling him he had bought it.

Justice does not live in the house but stores items there and visits it from time to time, his mother said.

The man "cleared the house out," including a drum set and furniture, and broke some of the items, she said.

"He took a hammer and broke in. ... They got a hammer and an ax. ... I've never seen anything like it," she said. "He tore things up; he said that's his house."

"They don't want me to talk about it," Dorothy Justice said, identifying "they" as "the county people."

Eugene Justice could not be reached for comment.

An employee at the Accomack County Assessor's Office discovered the mapping error after Justice came into the clerk's office.

"His concern was, he went to the property and the new owners informed him they had purchased the property," said Clerk of the Circuit Court Samuel H. Cooper Jr. "He knew something was wrong because that had been the family home for many years."

It appears the two parcels had been reversed on the tax maps for years, likely before the Assessor's Office was created back in 1980, County Assessor Brent Hurdle said.

Treasurer Dana Bundick said the Assessor's Office notified her of the problem but said she has not been contacted by any of the parties involved.

Accomack's collection attorney, James Elliott of York County, said Monday no one had told him about the problem. He identified the purchaser of the property as Greg O'Bier, who is listed as a Delaware resident on county records.

Elliott said the error falls under an area of law called "mutual mistake of fact" and said the best course of action now is to "put everybody back" where they were before the sale and "untie the knot."

About damages to Justice's possessions, Elliott said, "I only sell land; I don't sell furniture."

He said property sold at tax sale auctions do not include the contents of the house.

"If you take something that's not yours, buyer beware," he said.

Bundick in January signed a memorandum of understanding with the Accomack County Board of Supervisors in which she agreed to pursue a more aggressive policy to collect delinquent taxes in return for her office being given $40,000 more this year to help pay for the work involved.

Elliott represents more than 30 localities in Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. His office oversees the sale at auction of some 500 parcels a year to collect delinquent real estate taxes.

His website states that parcels sold are "subject to any discrepancies on the county, city or town's land maps and to possible rights of parties in possession, encroachments, overlaps, overhangs, deficiency in quantity, all questions of boundaries, location and acreage which a current and accurate survey would disclose, roadways, unrecorded easements or any other matter not of record which could be disclosed by inspection of the premises."

Eight tax sales have been held in Accomack County so far this year, with one more scheduled this week, according to Elliott's website.

www.delmarvanow.com