County considers enacting law requiring back taxes be paid before deeds are recorded

By Lisa Majors-Duff

State legislation approved this year makes it possible for Jackson and 24 other North Carolina counties to require the county tax collector to certify no delinquent taxes are owed on a piece of property before the register of deeds records the transfer, county attorney Raymond Large told commissioners during their Dec. 20 meeting.

"It appears on the face of it that this would be a valuable tool to collect taxes or make sure taxes are paid before a deed is recorded in the register of deeds office," Large said.

For the new requirement to take affect in Jackson County, commissioners must first approve a resolution and describe the form the tax collector's certification will take, said Large.

"If you want to enact this," Large said, "I would recommend you hold a public hearing and allow those interested to speak."

"Would this hinder a transaction, unless taxes are owed?" Chairman Jay Denton asked his attorney.

"I don't think so," said Large, who said the law would affect most those who transfer property without using an attorney, who would as a matter of course do a title search and determine the tax status of the property.

"Is the intent of this bill to make people pay their taxes?" Denton asked.

"Yes," said Large, who pointed out that current-year taxes would not be included.

The potential for problems could come when a piece of property is split, said tax assessor Cecil Dills. For example, if a person with 50 acres has not paid his taxes for three years then decides to sell 2 acres, would he be required to pay a proportionate amount of back taxes or all of what is due, Dills questioned.

Another concern Dills expressed was the possibility of mistakenly certifying a piece of property is not behind in its taxes, which could require the county to write those funds off. Also, the added time of researching the 3,500 or so parcels transferred each year in Jackson County would put an extra burden on county employees in his office, the tax collector's office and the mapping office, Dills said.

As of last week, 47 parcels with taxes owed had changed hands in Jackson County this year, Dills said. The taxes due on the property are in excess of $28,900, he said.

At the board's request, Dills agreed to research the effect the new legislation is having in counties currently requiring tax collector's certification and report his findings at the Jan. 17 meeting.

In other business to come before the board Dec. 20, commissioners heard from their attorney in closed session concerning "threatened legal action," apparently from Cherokee Helicopters, against the county. They then asked him to meet with Ben Bridgers, attorney for Cherokee Helicopters, to determine to what extent the company will agree to be regulated.

Jim Garst, manager of the sight-seeing helicopter company located adjacent to the Cherokee Indian Reservation, won his court case earlier this month when a District Court judge dismissed criminal charges against him for violating the county's 4-day-old helicopter ordinance. Judge Steve Bryant ruled the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.

Garst, who attended the Dec. 20 meeting, spoke at length privately with Chairman Denton at the close of the session.

Also last week, county Manager Ken Westmoreland reported that the county planning board may request an extension of the cell tower moratorium while Geoffrey Willett, a N.C. Department of Commerce community assistance expert, works to finalize a draft ordinance.

"(The planning board) may need another extension of the moratorium of 30 to 60 days," Westmoreland told commissioners.

At the request of Brian Cagle, president of the Community Table board of directors, board members agreed to give the soup kitchen $2,000 to help keep the doors open until additional funds can be found through grants.

The Community Table has been in operation for two years with an all-volunteer staff. During this time, the organization, with assistance from local churches, college students, civic groups and other concerned citizens, has served more than 25,000 meals to the county's low-income residents, Cagle said.

Commissioners agreed to forward to the N.C. Department of Transportation a request that half a mile of Tunnel Mountain Road be included on the maintenance improvement system and that seven-tenths of Forest Run Road be added to the state road system.

Appointments approved included Ruth Haines to the county Nursing and Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee and Michael Germano and Gary Wright to the Village of Forest Hills planning board, which was expanded after council members approve an extra-territorial jurisdiction.

The next meeting of the board will be held Thursday, Jan. 3, at the Justice Center.

Back to Archive: 12/27/01.