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Mayor says town shortchanged by Griffin's delays
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - "We have again been unable to get from the commissioner of the revenue the information we need to do our tax tickets," said Monterey mayor Janice Warner last Thursday. "I wrote them a letter to remind them, but there has been nothing forthcoming. I've been to the office to talk to them, but it's like getting nowhere.
"We need these things. I'm prepared to go back again tomorrow. I think the people of Highland County are being shortchanged."
Warner has been frustrated by delays from commissioner of the revenue Bobbie Griffin's office, and says without the necessary property information, the town can't move forward with tax collection.
"It is personal property that has not been set; the county is in the same condition," said town attorney Melissa Dowd. "The commissioner of the revenue did not complete the task on time, according to the county. Yelling is not going to make it go faster. It might make sense for the town to register its concern."
Dowd said state law imposes a fine on commissioners of not less than $50 nor more than $200, and withholding of pay for not making out the books. However, it is not clear which governing body imposes the penalty - the board of supervisors or the state.
A letter of complaint can be filed with the state commissioner of taxation via the board of supervisors recommending action. But supervisors voted Wednesday to send a letter to Griffin, saying that in the future, her office will comply with the Sept. 1 deadline for submitting a copy of the personal property tax book to the treasurer as required by state statute, or that an extension request will be submitted to the state department of taxation in time to receive the extension before the deadline. The board also stipulated the town receive a copy of the extension request.
The board decided not to forward the town's complaint to the state. County attorney Melissa Dowd said the statute was subject to interpretation as to whether supervisors must notify the department of taxation about the violation.
"I see nothing to be gained by imposing draconian consequences on the commissioner of the revenue, as long as there is an understanding that the reports will be completed in a timely manner or extensions filed," said supervisor Robin Sullenberger.
Griffin has already filed a request for extension. Griffin said county treasurer Lois White did not endorse that request out of concern she was endorsing the action of the commissioner. Dowd said the treasurer has no responsibility professionally or legally to endorse the commissioner's request for an extension.
"My disappointment with the situation has grown over time," Sullenberger told Griffin. "You have used emotional responses rather than professional responses. I have all the compassion in the world that you are dealing with personal problems. The letters from you in the past are very emotional in nature. There is never an admission that 'I have a problem here and I haven't held up my obligation as to what I had to do.' Now there's a legal issue. I have always felt comfortable that you were going to do your job and do it well. Watching this unfold over the last year is very discomforting."
Supervisor Jerry Rexrode told her, "I think we are here to solve a problem. You know your deadlines in the future. You are aware now that you have to file your extension."
How did it come to this?
At last Thursday's town council meeting Warner said, "This isn't the first time this has happened. It is every year. The thing that has bothered me is she has been in the office long enough to know what we need and when we need it. With the permission of town council, I will register a complaint with the board of supervisors.
"We should have had this information the first of September. There is no excuse for that."
The town already has real estate information it needs from the county. Griffin says she requested an extension from the state this week and expects to have the information the town needs to do its tax tickets by Friday.
"I think the board of supervisors will do something about it the first of the year to make sure the deadlines are met," said Dowd.
"I feel it is important to get our taxes done," said Warner.
Council had voted to send a letter to supervisors outlining its concerns. The letter was mailed to the board Friday, Oct. 5.
"By Virginia Code Section 58.1-3118, a commissioner of revenue is required to furnish this information to the treasurers by Sept. 1, or 90 days after the tax rates are set. Our concern is not a recent one, but each year the needed tax information gets to us later and later," wrote Warner to supervisors.
"I do not think that we should continue to allow her to ignore what is clearly laid out in Virginia code," Warner continues. "She should not be compensated when she is not at work and the work needed to prepare the information for tax tickets is not given to the county treasurer or the town clerk/ treasurer in a timely manner."
Warner also explained the town uses a different computer program than the county to run its tax tickets, which requires an independent programmer to come to Monterey to input the tax information. It takes time to arrange the visits, and if all the information (property tax and personal property tax) is not available at the same time, the programmer has to make more than one trip, increasing the cost to the town.
Griffin says she's understaffed
In her defense, Griffin said she has been understaffed for some time due to excused absences in the office. Also, she requested additional part-time help earlier in the year, but supervisors reallocated money in her existing budget to cover her request. She also said the town has always received its tax information later in September. This year is unusual only in that the required report was not completed until early October, she explained.
"I have worked for 20 years in this courthouse," Griffin wrote in a letter to town councilmen dated Oct. 7. "Except for my fight against cancer, I have always put the work of the county first. Even during treatment I was here day and night.
"This year, I admit to being behind," said Griffin.
Griffin goes on to say her deputy, Angela Crigler, had to take seven weeks of medical leave "during the critical time we are preparing for fall tax tickets. During this same time, my own daughter had cancer surgery at U.Va. hospital and while there, suffered a major heart attack … I regrettably had to be away from the office a lot … Someone has to be with her basically 24 hours a day … I tell you this not for your sympathy, but hopefully at least for some understanding."
Griffin admits she was unaware she needed to file an extension. It was not the practice during her 16 years as deputy to file extensions, she says. She has no recollection of the town ever complaining about tax information coming to them late when retired commissioner Toby Swecker was in office.
"Mrs. Swecker may have finished later than the code specifies, but Mr. (Bill) Huffman (retired county treasurer) nor the town ever complained to her and no extension was ever given to the Department of Taxation in that 16 years (when Griffin served as deputy under Swecker). We worked on the belief that we were all working towards the same goal and that we were honest, sincere, and diligent employees of the county. A 'virtual' handshake was what we went on."
In 2005, the county had a reassessment and converted midyear (July) to a new computer system with BAI. The county also went to twice-a-year tax billing, increasing the workload on the commissioner of revenue's office. "This was not an easy year," Griffin wrote. "But it was not my decision to convert and to this day we still have problems that the BAI people can't seem to fix."
She goes on to list some of the duties of her office: income taxes and processing, estimated taxes and processing, mapping of new parcels, land transfers, real estate record keeping, personal property records and assessments, new construction information and values, enterprise fund (trash fee), public service records and assessments, mineral records and assessments, customer questions, copies of information requests which can include labels and complete copies of maps, and utility and trash fee exemptions. Town asks for information by
Oct. 1
Warner sent Griffin a letter Sept. 19 asking for the "necessary paper work, i.e. reports, print outs, materials, that we obtain from your office each year in preparation of putting our tax tickets together for our town residents."
Warner asked for the information by Oct. 1. She said town clerk Nancy Hooke had spoken to the commissioner's office several weeks earlier, which indicated the request for information would be coming.
"I apologize for not answering her," wrote Griffin. "All spare minutes were devoted to either my daughter or to assessing personal property. I was trying to reach her deadline but didn't make it.
"I worked Friday night until 10 p.m., Saturday from 10:30 until 8, and Sunday from 11 until 7. With few exceptions the personal property is ready to give to the treasurer and ultimately to the town."
Griffin told supervisors Wednesday she intends to have the personal property tax report to the treasurer by Friday.
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