Does a candidate for political office who does not pay property taxes have the right to run?
What is the impact of a candidate who is in arrears on his property taxes?
SCDN discovered that several properties owned by candidates running for County Commissioner are behind on property taxes. As a matter of fact, none of the property tax bills on the identified properties have ever been paid.
Should that person (or those persons) be rewarded for their delinquent behavior by having the ability to spend other people’s tax dollars?
County Commissioners must disqualify anyone who is delinquent with their taxes when entering into contracts or accepting bids for services. Anyone wishing to purchase from the Land Bank may not have a pending tax bill.
This is not a matter of late taxes. Taxes owed on these properties extend back many years. There is one case where taxes have not been paid in over 17 years. This is a continuous pattern of non-payment. An utter disregard for the most basic and fundamental aspect of homeownership.
There is a disturbing aspect of this discovery: The regular tax bill on the properties is significantly less than a typical cable bill. The taxes on some of the properties are less than the cost of a typical dinner for two. Do they eat? Do they have TV and internet? Of course they do.
Our motto has always been: Report without Bias. Tell the Truth without Compromise. This is the uncompromising truth. There are those who are getting campaign donations (other people’s money) so they can have a say in how the County should spend other people’s money. Meanwhile, they thumb their noses at us.
A full disclosure of the candidate(s) name and information will be forthcoming.