In The News
- Coastal Companies gets extension to pay $2.2 million in back taxes
By Shelby Sebens
Shelby.Sebens@StarNewsOnline.comOne of the biggest development companies in Brunswick County is getting another break on its delinquent property taxes.
Rather than requiring The Coastal Companies to pay around $800,000 by the end of the fiscal year in June, the county is giving it an extended tax plan that includes escalating monthly payments. The Coastal Companies owes about $2.2 million in back taxes for 2008 and 2009.
The extended tax plan is one more example of the county taking this troubled developer under its wing in a time when building is stalled and the economy struggles to get back on its feet.
But officials say they would do the same for any company – or individual, for that matter.
The Coastal Companies, owned by Mark Saunders, is a parent company for several subdivisions in Brunswick County that have become the target of civil lawsuits and complaints to the Attorney General's Office. People who bought lots there accuse the company of conspiring with other entities to concoct a mortgage fraud scheme that netted hundreds of millions of dollars and left property owners in the lurch.
County commissioners, however, say they aren't seeing red flags and will continue to work with The Coastal Companies as long as it's in the best interest of the county – and legal.
The tax plan is in addition to a shortcut sewer deal and infrastructure bond deadline extensions the county has already given The Coastal Companies.
“They're willing to work with us, and I think that we're willing to work with them to the fullest extent of the law and ordinances,” Commissioner Scott Phillips said.
But complaints continue to stack up against the developer, and the taxes are only one piece of a complex puzzle.
Back taxes back up
Since June, The Coastal Companies has been paying $50,000 a month to whittle down $1.3 million in taxes owed for 2008. As of April, the company still owed approximately $865,000.
Originally, the company agreed to pay the balance this June. But the company asked that the plan be restructured, Tax Collector Ken Perry said.
The company argues that issues with the county are what's keeping it from paying the owed taxes. Company officials have said a water line crossing its property was blocking development and that the county owed the developer more than the total of the taxes. And now The Coastal Companies is also saying the county inappropriately raised the values of company-owned property in 2008, which increased its tax bill by $400,000. Next month the company will start paying $75,000 a month. By January, the 2010 taxes will be delinquent and the payments for the 2008-2009 taxes will go up to $100,000 a month. By August of next year, The Coastal Companies will owe the balance and a balloon payment of approximately $1 million from the accumulated interest.
“I can't keep the payment level. I have to kind of step it up,” Perry said of the increase in monthly payments.
If the company makes its balloon payment, then Perry said he will negotiate a plan for the 2010 taxes that will be delinquent. If not, he will move to other collection options, which include bank attachments and foreclosure.
Perry said more than 1,000 property owners are on tax payment plans and the county has about 13,000 parcels with delinquent taxes. He said Saunders' companies are getting no special treatment.
“I don't treat them any differently than I treat anybody else,” he said.
Because the taxes owed by The Coastal Companies involve hundreds of properties and several companies, all owned by Saunders, foreclosure doesn't make sense, especially in this market, Perry said.
“Foreclosure is, of course, the last resort,” he added, noting several delinquent taxpayers are on rolling payments plans.
But Perry has no way of knowing for sure what The Coastal Companies finances look like.
“It comes down to judgment and negotiation,” he said.
The property owners tell him what they think they can pay each month, and he works from there.
“As long as they're doing the best they can do, you just hang with them,” he said.
Shelby Sebens: 343-2076
On Twitter.com: @ShelbySebens
Published: Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.- Date Posted: May 16, 2010