11192014 - News Article - Portage mayor claims late taxes a 'misunderstanding'

Portage mayor claims late taxes a 'misunderstanding'
NWI Times
November 19, 2014
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/portage-mayor-claims-late-taxes-a-misunderstanding/article_0fdbeefa-4e84-567d-831f-3bc19b5b4a9e.html

PORTAGE | Portage Mayor James Snyder said Wednesday he's taking action to make sure he pays his property tax on time in the future.

Snyder owes $1,827 in taxes and penalties on his family's home. He and his wife own a home on Laurel Street as well, but records indicate taxes are paid through a mortgage company and have been paid in full.

"I believe the payment on our Austin property is currently nine days late and the payment is in the mail and will be current as it is on our Laurel property," Snyder wrote in an email.

His property taxes were due Nov. 10.

"We have also paid the penalties and interest due without any questions," his Wednesday email states. "We intend to sign up for escrows automatically deducted from our checking so that we don’t have this problem or misunderstanding in the future as we understand we are held to a higher standard as public officials."

He didn't offer an explanation as to why he didn't pay his taxes on time last week.

It isn't the first time he's missed paying property taxes on time.
According to public records, Snyder ended 2011 owing $1,596 in taxes and penalties. He didn't make a payment until Aug. 14, 2012, indicating he didn't pay either the spring or fall tax installments on time that year, ending 2012 with a $1,777 debit to the county on his Austin Street property.

He took office in 2012.

In 2013, he made two payments to the county, one in January and a second in May. He missed the November deadline and ended the year owing $1,676 in taxes and penalties.

His tax bill, according to the records, entering 2014 rose to $5,327. His only payment of $3,500 was made Aug. 22, 2014, leaving the current balance.

Matt Baker, Porter County chief deputy treasurer, said taxpayers are considered delinquent if they do not pay their installments by the deadline. Once the deadline passes, they pay a 5 percent penalty for 30 days if they have no prior delinquencies. If they have previous delinquencies or they past 30 days, an additional 5 percent is assessed on the tax owed.

After three consecutive installments go unpaid, a property can go up for tax sale.

In addition, there is a state law allowing a government employee's wages to be garnished if they fail to pay their property taxes. The county treasurer's office is required to inform the government entity and the employee's wages can be garnished to pay the back taxes, Baker said.

However, he added, past practice has allowed the garnishment to be bypassed if the employee shows some kind of effort to pay the tax bill.

11052014 - VIDEO - Protecting Pets From Domestic Violence with Protection Orders

Protecting Pets From Domestic Violence with Protection Orders - Video
Renee' Harrington/Michigan OIDV
November 05, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnhBMGpG5qc

11052014 - News Article - Davich: Officials’ three magic words: ‘Off the record’

Davich: Officials’ three magic words: ‘Off the record’

Post Tribune

JERRY DAVICH 

November 5, 2014 

https://jerrydavich.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/my-favorite-three-words-off-the-record/

“Off the record.”

I hear this phrase on an almost daily basis from region officials who want me to know their insights about certain issues, but not with their name attached. I heard it more often as Election Day approached, with political candidates even more leery about controversial topics, campaign strategies or mudslinging gossip.

These behind-the-scenes insights forced me to look differently at many of the candidates who were running for public office in this past midterm election. I learned that one candidate struggles with bipolar-related anger issues (he won his race), another one is a delusional megalomaniac (he lost his office). I voted accordingly.

“Jerry, this is just between you and me – you know, off the record, so you know the truth,” a Northwest Indiana mayor told me recently.

He then told me what I needed to know to write my column, though he was never mentioned. This is a commonplace exchange for journalists. For many, their bread and butter. Always has been. We rely on such insights, information or confirmation of rumored facts.

Talking-head officials, especially the polished ones, know this and they’re quick to preface any conversation with those three magic words: Off the record. When I’m doing an interview in person, I will literally put down my pen and turn off my recorder, to show them I understand their concerns.

It’s my way to show respect, as well as appreciation of their trust in me. (If I was a public official, I would certainly think twice before talking with someone like me, that’s for sure.)

Some bureaucrats still remain leery, insisting for verbal confirmation that I will not attach their name to what I’m told. Others will quietly escort me away from any crowds to whisper in my ear, literally. I once had a police detective usher me away from any crowds three times during the same conversation involving his department. That’s how paranoid he was about talking to me in public.

“You can never be too safe about this stuff,” he told me, his eyes darting back and forth.

A couple weeks back, I was asked to meet with a well-known public officeholder who wanted to have an entire conversation with me off the record. He asked to meet with me for coffee somewhere and I had him choose the restaurant. Why? I knew he was nervous about being seen in public with me, or with any media type for that matter.

“How about this place?” he asked, referring to a national chain restaurant. “I don’t know of a lot of politicians who meet there.”

He’s right. Most pols seem to gravitate to local eateries, coffeehouses or bars where they know the owners, the servers and most of the customers. They feel like Norm from “Cheers.” Great for the ego, I’m guessing.

So we met at the national chain joint for breakfast and this guy told me how the FBI has been grilling him for months about his recordkeeping, his office and even his personal finances. He’s been a wreck over it, causing him enough grief to lose weight and, to a degree, lose his sanity.

“Jerry, it’s brutal,” he told me, shaking his head and stirring his coffee.

He explained to me about a parallel world existing in this region that swirls around targeted public officials under the feds’ microscope, whether they’re guilty of wrongdoing or not. This underworld soon includes questions for anyone remotely associated with the target, including their friends, family and even church pastors.

“Let me tell you, it’s the worst, it’s sheer terror,” he told me.

Or as one targeted public official once told me: “It’s un-American is what it is. They pull your credit reports, they scan your files, they ask for all your receipts, some dating back a decade.”

Some of these targeted officeholders get trained by the feds on how to take a bribe – with a wire attached to them – to catch any wrongdoing by others.

So why did this particular officeholder tell me all this over a 90-minute conversation?

“It’s not fair and someone like you needs to know what’s going on, just in case,” he said. “This isn’t only about me, but for anyone in this position. A lot of it is just perception.”

Perception is reality, especially in politics. For many public officials it’s all that matters anyway. This is why “off the record’ is used so often by so many of them, including ones who do nothing wrong. They don’t mind sharing information. They just can’t be held accountable for its origin or responsible for its consequences.

Keep this in mind when reading newspaper stories, media accounts or this column space. And if you want me to know something I otherwise wouldn’t, or possibly shouldn’t, don’t forget to first say those three magic words.