Videos: Insolvent tax list tabled, Lowndes Co. Dev. Auth. Reappointments, subdivision infrastructure, wine license, radios, bottled water, trucks, clothes washers, mowers, tractors, backup generator

Two weeks ago at their May 25, 2021, Regular Session, Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved everything except one agenda item. They tabled Tax Commissioner Rodney V. Cain’s request to write off $437,823.30 in insolvent taxes.

Insolvent list, Tax Commissioner

At the Monday, May 24, 2021, Work Session, Cain said the insolvent taxes were because the seven-year statute of limitations had been exceeded, or property had been moved out of the county. He said Gander Mountain accounted for half of the total. (I compute that at slightly less than 40%.) This item is back on the agenda for this morning’s Work Session and voting Tuesday evening, June 8, 2021.

At that previous Work Session, Cain seemed rather vague about details such as how much might need to be written off next year. He also did not say why he had not dealt with this earlier, even though he was first elected in November 2016. (His opponent in that election, Felicia Williams, is now an appointed Tax Assessor.)

In response to questions from more than one County Commissioner, Cain did say most Tax Commissioners deal with this annually, and he plans to do that from now on.

Cain previously made statewide news for charging fees to cities and the county. Erin M. Schilling and Anila P. Yoganathan, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 13, 2019, Georgia’s elected tax commissioners get thousands in undeclared ‘fees’,

In Lowndes County, Tax Commissioner Rodney Cain has no written contract with the four cities for which he collects taxes, and he charges each one a different fee, from 56 cents to $1.30 per parcel in 2018. Under this informal arrangement, the county does not receive any compensation for the work.

Cain received more than $31,000 in fees in 2018 for collecting city taxes, on top of his county salary of more than $90,000.

“I send them a bill and they promptly send me a check,” Cain said. “I am very fair and reasonable with them and they understand that.”

Cain also made national news for waiving penalties and fees. Associated Press, 25 May 2020, County Investigates Tax Collector for Wrongly Waiving Fees,

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — A south Georgia tax collector has been waiving penalties and interest for some residents and not others, even though county commissioners had told him to stop.

The Valdosta Daily Times reports Lowndes County Tax Commissioner Rodney Cain waived almost $3 million in penalties and interest owed the the county.

On August 25, 2020, the County Commission passed a Resolution Repealing Approvals Authorizing the Tax Commissioner to Waive Penalties and Interest.

FYI, only the Governor can remove a Tax Commissioner, the County Commission cannot do that, because the Tax Commissioner is elected.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item of that 2021-05-24 Work Session. See also the agenda and the board packet, as well as the minutes.

Here’s a LAKE video playlist:


Videos: Insolvent tax list tabled, Lowndes Co. Dev. Auth. Reappointments, subdivision infrastructure, wine license, radios, bottled water, trucks, clothes washers, mowers, tractors, backup generator
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.

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-jsq