Accomack County Will Hire Independent Auditor

Now maybe Accomack County will begin to make progress with those unpaid taxes!

At Wednesday's Accomack County Board of Supervisor's meeting, Supervisor Robert Crockett made the suggestion that the Board hire an auditor to examine the County's tax system.

Crockett stated that he believes the best way to make a better system for tax collection is to retain the services of an independent auditor to examine the offices of the Treasurer, Commissioner of Revenue, Director of Finance and the Assessor to identify any problems that may exist.

The Board voted unanimously to spend up to $7,500 to hire an independent auditor.

Source; shoredailynews.com

Over 10 MILLION DOLLARS Unpaid To Accomack County

Alot of Accomack County taxpayers would like to know what is being done to collect the monies owed to the county.  Have we become such a wealthy county that these taxes don't need to be paid ?  Or is the County Treasurer's Office just hoping none of the taxpayers that carry the burden by paying  taxes on time will ever ask?  Taxpayers of Accomack County deserve some prompt answers!

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met for their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 in the board chambers in Accomac.

During the Public Comment part of the meeting, Belle Haven resident Wesley Edwards told the board that he has confirmed with the County Treasurer that over 10 million dollars is owed in delinquent taxes. He provided the board members with copies of pages from the Supervisor's manual that states that the Treasurer must prepare several lists of uncollectible taxes and delinquents by August 1 of each year.

 The lists include real estate on the commissioner's land book improperly placed with the amount of taxes charged, other real estate which is delinquent, and taxes assessed on tangible personal property which the Treasurer in unable to collect. It also stated that the board may order the lists of delinquent taxes to be published in the newspaper.


 Edwards said he has never seen any of these lists and wants to know what is being covered up and wants taxpayers and voters to know who owes these millions of dollars that are not being collected. Edwards also provided the board with the list of the top 25 people who owe delinquent taxes.


Shirley Zamora of Onancock told the board that she believes decreasing the number of supervisors is a good idea. She said it would save the county money and asked the board to consider this sacrifice for the citizens.
Zamora expressed her concerns about the Whispering Pines hotel, calling it a nuisance and liability, noting that there are derelict buildings and a pool that she believes is filled with nasty water.


County Attorney Mark Taylor said the property owner, who is an investor from Pennsylvania owes over $10,000 in delinquent taxes. He also told the board that there were someone living at the hotel, who provides security for the property. Supervisor Wanda Thornton said because they owe over $10,000, the property needs to be sold. The board voted unanimously to have the Treasurer to sell the property as soon as possible.


There will be a public hearing concerning redistricting on May 12th at the board chambers in Accomac at 7:30. Board members and staff will be available for citizens to ask questions and view the redistricting maps at 6:30 p.m. At the Redistricting Meeting held last week, the board voted 8-1 to limit the amount of precincts in a district to three. District 8 Supervisor Donald Hart was the only one who voted against the motion. Hart stated he is concerned with the way redistricting has gone so far.


He went on to say that voting should be convenient, noting that the decision means that he is losing two of his smallest precincts in his district. Quinby residents must travel to Wachapreague to cast their vote and Keller residents will now vote in Bobtown.


Hart is concerned that this will make it more difficult for elderly citizens to vote.

Source;  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

Delinquent Taxpayers May See Their Names In Lights

Accomack Supervisor Donald Hart wants to give delinquent taxpayers their big break. Well, not exactly. His plan is to illuminate their names on the courthouse green so they will pay their debt. “You put their name out there in lights, you will see money fly in this county,” Hart said. The rest of the board agreed Wednesday to investigate the cost of such a sign. They also reviewed lists of those who owe the most, including:

Real Estate

Quinby Preserve Partners LLC, $43,568;
Donna Rae Roseke, $28,786;
Henrik S. Shelley $22,859;
Edward Lunn Tull and Louise A. Tull, $22,442;
Shoreland/Parker LLC, $18,802;
TammyLee Taylor, $18,261;
Lance G. and Barbara W. Fisher, $14,809;
Adair E. Harmon, $14,248;
Heirs of John J. Cherricks, $13,913;
Angela L. or Thomas D. Cook Sr., $13,565;
Wilford L. Evans, $13,361;
Barbara H. Upshur, $13,088;
Tai M. Lee or Tiffany Quyen Do, $13,077;
Tully W.Parker, et ux, $12,492;
Alexander J.and Gloria E. Justice, $12,116;
Capt. Fish’s Steaming Wharf Inc.,$11,866;
BIC Inc., $11,701; Luvenia Miles, $11,514;
Kenneth Earl Doughty and Mary Emily Doughty 11,105;
Peggy L. Giddens/Andrea G. Bolden, $11,007;
Lois M. Gordon $10,872;
George E. and Barbara B. Bowden, $10,329;
Lance G., Barbara W. and Charles S. Fisher, $10,031;
Lisa Judge Jester Rowe, $9,001;
Heirs of John Cherricks, $8,971

For a total of $381,784.

Personal Property

Lunn Tull $47,374;
B&L Produce Inc., $42,887;
A. Smith Enterprises Inc., $39,146;
Lucas Underground Utilities Inc., $29,802;
Phil Ray Farms, $22,649;
Troy Leon Bowser $20,834;
Regions Bank Leasing Division,$16,415;
Davis Transport ofVirginia Inc., $15,559;
Lloyd and Marcella R. Fields, $15,473;
Michael Anthony Finstad, $14,869;
Two Farm Inc. trading as Royal Farms,$13,648;
R&P Lucas Underground Utility, $11,349;
Eastern Shore Brick & Block Layers LLC, $10,107;
L.G. Fisher Inc. $10,065;
Sea Hawk Motel Inc. $9,712;
Thornton Services Inc. $9,608;
The Charlotte Hotel $9,591;
Misgivings II LLC $9,410;
Bryant Everett Planter$9,354;
Terrell Donti Trent $8,947;
Benito Antonio Juarez $8,816;
Sylvester Abney $8,789;
Royce A.Parks Jr. $8,615;
Sherwood Thomas Bailey Jr. $8,523;
Mario FacundoRocca $8,463

For a total $410,004.
www.easternshorepost.com

Unwanted Publicity For Delinquent Taxpayers Of Accomack County

Delinquent taxpayers may be getting more unwanted publicity if Supervisor Donald Hart's wishes are fulfilled. Hart called to take a page out of a local business owners book regarding those who owe money.

Referring to Doughty's Market in Melfa, Hart wishes that Accomack County would put up a sign on the County property listing the top delinquent taxpayers.

"People see that sign on Route 13," explained Hart "and those names don't stay up there long."

Supervisor Ron Wolff agreed with the idea saying businesses who owed money to the County would lose business if such a policy was adopted and therefore would be leveraged into paying.

County Attorney Mark Taylor did say during the discussion the County had a legal right to place such a sign. A motion was made and passed by the Supervisors to look into such a sign.

Hart also added he wanted County Treasurer Dana Bundick to go after the assets of delinquent taxpayers who owe balances on properties on Cedar Island that are now under water.

"If my house was under moving land and I didn't pay taxes, I would not be allowed to get away with it," argued Hart. "There was sand under their houses when the tax bills were issued and we should go after any assets they have to collect the debt."
www.shoredailynews.com

Northampton County Delinquent Taxes List

CAPE CHARLES — Two of Northampton County’s bigger delinquent taxpayers are well-known professional football names who have earned millions of dollars during their careers.

Darren Perry, a Hampton Roads native who had a long National Football League career and now is a defensive coach with the Green Bay Packers, owes the county $14,140.21 for unpaid real-estate taxes over the past two years, county records released this week show.

Perry and his wife, Errika, are the listed owners of a home on a .22-acre lot at 2830 Vernon Way, Cape Charles, valued at $1.4 million, according to the Northampton County website.

The lot is near the Marina Villages area on the Chesapeake Bay, near the mouth of King’s Creek.

They have not paid their $7,070.21 annual real-estate tax bills in each of the past two years.

The Perrys also owe $2,029.50 in delinquent personal property taxes for 2007 and $880.13 in personal-property taxes for 2008.

Perry could not immediately be reached for comment through Rob Crane, a spokesman for the Packers.

DeAngelo Hall, also a Hampton Roads native who owns a .7-acre parcel and house at 122 Creekside Drive, Bay Creek, owes $6,377.35 in delinquent taxes for 2009, according to county records.

Hall is a former Virginia Tech football standout who played for the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders before catching on with the Washington Redskins in recent years.

Hall did not return an e-mail seeking comment from the News placed through his website, DeAngeloHall.com.

The top 15 real-estate delinquencies for 2009 on Northampton County’s tax list, updated Tuesday, include:

Cherrydale by the Sea LLC, $38,347;

Shore Landvest Inc., 20,963.67;

Kimberley Starr, 14,316.33;

FFS, LLC, $12,965.89;

Seaside Preserve LLC, $11,808.51;

Platinum Partners Properties LP, $9,987.67;

Bayview Citizens for Social Justice Inc., $9,480.03;

Cape Charles Hotel LLC, $8,873.90;

Trustees of Hickman M.T. Et Als, $8,857.73;

Synergy Development and Investments, $8,484.84;

Perry, Darren and Errika, $7,070.21;

Forst, Paul E. and Kathleen M., $6,939.68;

Burns, Allen F. and Asenath P., $6,872.25;

Stewart, Dexter A. and Nassima, $6,741.42;

Hall, DeAngelo, $6,377.35.

The top 15 personal property delinquencies for 2009 on Northampton County’s tax list, updated Tuesday, include:

Shore Landvest Inc., $8,200;

Brunk Transport Inc., $3,100.63;

Two Farms Inc., $3,093.86;

Jiggetts, Willie, $3,075;

Quality Structure LLC, $2,618.12;

Rayfield, Arthur Wayne, $2,555.12;

Shore Hospitality LLC, $2,408.34;

Stewart, Nassima, $2,038.77;

Heath, Jennifer L., $1,702.89;

P&E Incorporated, $1,668.70;

Burton, Benjamin F., $1,431.59;

Tankard, Amelia W., $1,416.87;

Montalvo, Valerio J., $1,415.95;

Chesapeake Properties, $1,366.53;

Cape Charles Properties LLC, $1,163.58.

www.delmarvanow.com