Alderman delinquent on taxes pays this week after report surfaces, then votes for tax hike
Ward 4 Alderman Shaun Seales said early this week he intended to pay delinquent property taxes on parcels of land he owns in the city that were sold at auction last month and he did on Tuesday morning.
“My name is on only one or two by myself,” Seales said on Monday. “I’ve got several partners that own properties. I’m going to pay it this week or so. … We have a project we are doing.”
The parcels owned by Seales were on the delinquent tax sale rolls published in The Neshoba Democrat in August. Seales owed about $2,000 in delinquent property taxes, records show.
Seales has gone on record in support of a city tax hike in 2022, saying he believes raising taxes is important for Philadelphia’s future. And he was part of the 3-2 vote Wednesday to raise taxes.
The county confirmed Seales had not paid the property taxes and the parcels were sold for back taxes in an online auction. Neshoba County collects both city and county taxes.
“In our office, we collect delinquent taxes, so the 2020s went to a tax sale at the end of August that Mike Lewis (Neshoba County tax assessor/collector) conducts,” said Neshoba County Chancery Clerk Guy Nowell. “The 2020 taxes are now due in to our office at the Chancery Clerk’s Office.”
Seales had a couple of years to pay the back taxes to the investment company that paid the back taxes. The investors gain no rights to the property unless the taxes remain unpaid for three years, Nowell said.
“Most of these folks don’t lose their interest in their property,” Nowell said.
Investors often pay off such delinquent properties for the price of the back taxes to collect the payment on the back taxes with interest from property owners.
Seales said he is involved in several properties including a subdivision with a developer and they plan to pay off the taxes soon, noting the delayed payment was not because he could not afford to pay the taxes.
Seales pointed out during a public meeting Wednesday on the budget vote that he was the subject of a story on the front page of this week's The Neshoba Democrat for not having paid his property taxes on time last year.
“I know how people try to use one thing,” Seales said. “My personal tax had nothing to do with this. To everybody, I’ve got all the receipts. I paid all my taxes yesterday morning before our meeting so that’s clear.”
Seales, who also clarified that he ran as an independent candidate for his post, not a Democrat, as the newspaper reported, said raising the millage rate makes sense to him.