Leflore County Tax Collector Annie Conley presented to the Board of Supervisors on Monday a roster of delinquent taxes in the county totaling close to $130,000.
Conley told the board that steps had been taken to collect those taxes, including sending written notice, attempting to make personal contact by phone, sending out sheriff’s deputies to issue summons to delinquent taxpayers and filing affidavits through the justice court.
Mobile home delinquencies accounted for $10,188 and personal property delinquencies assigned to a long list of businesses in the county amounted to $118, 678. Nearly half of that total amount fell to two businesses with debts totaling $51,000.
Personal property and mobile home insolvencies — taxes that will have to be written off — amount to $16,439.
District 2 Supervisor Anjuan Brown said, “We’re gonna have to be more aggressive collecting this. I pay mine, and I feel that everybody else needs to pay theirs.”
A discussion ensued regarding the process and what methods of collection are available to the county, including using a collection agency.
District 2 Supervisor Robert Moore asked County Attorney Joyce Chiles to look into possible legal procedures that could help collect as much of the delinquent taxes as possible.
District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham moved that Conley’s report be accepted by the board with the understanding that she will continue to collect the outstanding taxes. The board approved.
In other county business:
nGreenwood-Leflore Airport Manager Grady Perkins asked the board to approve revised rules and regulations for the airport, including a point of some contention regarding the sale of jet fuel and gasoline to operators.
Moore said he had received a telephone call from an unhappy constituent who charged the airport was discriminating in regard to who can sell fuel. District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self said he had received a letter expressing the same complaint.
Perkins assured the board that the new rules merely updated old rules from the 1970s that no longer apply to how fuel can be sold at the airport. Chiles said she had reviewed the proposal and saw no evidence of discriminatory practice. The board approved the new rules and regulations as presented.
nGreenwood-Leflore Industrial Board Executive Director Angela Curry appeared before the board on behalf of Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. and Birdsong Corp., asking for approval of property tax exemptions for both companies.
The Milwaukee Tool exemption is in connection with the company’s 2015 expansion that, Curry said, created more than 84 new jobs in the county. The exemption is worth $46,571, according to Tax Assessor Leroy Ware.
The Birdsong request, which would exempt the company for 10 years from paying county property taxes with the exception of school taxes, includes an exemption on $4 million worth of equipment purchased by the company to outfit its Greenwood warehouse facility before it opened in December 2015. The total exemption is worth $43,972, according to Ware.
Birdsong’s petition said the company, a Virginia-based peanut processing operation, provides approximately five full-time and 16 part-time jobs, with an estimated annual payroll of $275,000.
Abraham said he had toured the facility and was impressed with the operation.
Ware said the county will require clarification from the Mississippi Department of Revenue to approve the exemption request in full.
The board approved both exemptions with the understanding that exemption for the full amount of Birdsong’s equipment must be approved by the state.
nLeflore County Fire Coordinator Bobby Norwood asked the board’s approval to apply for a $350,000 federal grant to replace 75 airpacks that Norwood said are 26 years old. The county would have to match the grant at 5 percent.
Norwood also asked for approval to take bids for engineers to draw up grading maps for each station in the county, mapping the surrounding five miles, a requirement for upgrading the county’s fire rating. A better rating would bring the county in line for better insurance rates for property owners, Norwood explained.
The board approved both requests.
nContact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.Leflore County Tax Collector Annie Conley presented to the Board of Supervisors on Monday a roster of delinquent taxes in the county totaling close to $130,000.
Conley told the board that steps had been taken to collect those taxes, including sending written notice, attempting to make personal contact by phone, sending out sheriff’s deputies to issue summons to delinquent taxpayers and filing affidavits through the justice court.
Mobile home delinquencies accounted for $10,188 and personal property delinquencies assigned to a long list of businesses in the county amounted to $118, 678. Nearly half of that total amount fell to two businesses with debts totaling $51,000.
Personal property and mobile home insolvencies — taxes that will have to be written off — amount to $16,439.
District 2 Supervisor Anjuan Brown said, “We’re gonna have to be more aggressive collecting this. I pay mine, and I feel that everybody else needs to pay theirs.”
A discussion ensued regarding the process and what methods of collection are available to the county, including using a collection agency.
District 2 Supervisor Robert Moore asked County Attorney Joyce Chiles to look into possible legal procedures that could help collect as much of the delinquent taxes as possible.
District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham moved that Conley’s report be accepted by the board with the understanding that she will continue to collect the outstanding taxes. The board approved.
In other county business:
nGreenwood-Leflore Airport Manager Grady Perkins asked the board to approve revised rules and regulations for the airport, including a point of some contention regarding the sale of jet fuel and gasoline to operators.
Moore said he had received a telephone call from an unhappy constituent who charged the airport was discriminating in regard to who can sell fuel. District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self said he had received a letter expressing the same complaint.
Perkins assured the board that the new rules merely updated old rules from the 1970s that no longer apply to how fuel can be sold at the airport. Chiles said she had reviewed the proposal and saw no evidence of discriminatory practice. The board approved the new rules and regulations as presented.
• Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board Executive Director Angela Curry appeared before the board on behalf of Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. and Birdsong Corp., asking for approval of property tax exemptions for both companies.
The Milwaukee Tool exemption is in connection with the company’s 2015 expansion that, Curry said, created more than 84 new jobs in the county. The exemption is worth $46,571, according to Tax Assessor Leroy Ware.
The Birdsong request, which would exempt the company for 10 years from paying county property taxes with the exception of school taxes, includes an exemption on $4 million worth of equipment purchased by the company to outfit its Greenwood warehouse facility before it opened in December 2015. The total exemption is worth $43,972, according to Ware.
Birdsong’s petition said the company, a Virginia-based peanut processing operation, provides approximately five full-time and 16 part-time jobs, with an estimated annual payroll of $275,000.
Abraham said he had toured the facility and was impressed with the operation.
Ware said the county will require clarification from the Mississippi Department of Revenue to approve the exemption request in full.
The board approved both exemptions with the understanding that exemption for the full amount of Birdsong’s equipment must be approved by the state.
• Leflore County Fire Coordinator Bobby Norwood asked the board’s approval to apply for a $350,000 federal grant to replace 75 airpacks that Norwood said are 26 years old. The county would have to match the grant at 5 percent.
Norwood also asked for approval to take bids for engineers to draw up grading maps for each station in the county, mapping the surrounding five miles, a requirement for upgrading the county’s fire rating. A better rating would bring the county in line for better insurance rates for property owners, Norwood explained.
The board approved both requests.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
