Late tax payments are common from Kansas City Council candidates

As Mayor Sly James awaits the outcome of a lawsuit over late property tax payments, he is far from the only Kansas City Council candidate with a history of late payments.

Tax records show James was late paying his personal property taxes for each of the past three years. His late payment this year is at issue in a lawsuit filed by Clay Chastain, who was eliminated in the three-way mayoral primary. James’ lawyer has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and a hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case.

But personal property tax records in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties show that 11 of the 22 council candidates for the June 23 election were more than a month late, with at least one payment beyond the annual due date of Dec. 31.

The 11 other candidates either had a good on-time track record or were just a few days or weeks late.

The Kansas City candidates who own homes showed on-time payments for their residential property taxes, but those are generally taken care of by a mortgage company. Personal property taxes require more deliberate action.

County officials do not know how many taxpayers are late each year, but they say the vast majority pay on time. For example, Jackson County’s annual financial report shows less than 10 percent of the property tax base was delinquent three months after the due date in 2012 and 2013, the most recent years available.

Because local elected officials propose tax measures to voters, some residents say, council candidates should set the standard for on-time payments.

“They should be right on time with their taxes,” said Dan Coffey, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Government, which has argued against higher taxes or fees for such projects as the streetcar and the airport. “What’s the point of setting a deadline if it doesn’t mean anything?”

Coffey said that if people were late one time, he would give them the benefit of the doubt, “but I think the mayor’s done it three times.”

“It’s a lack of good, solid fiscal responsibility,” Coffey said. “How can you run a city like that and not know when your property taxes are due?”

Coffey said chronically late candidates shouldn’t be in office.

Still, others say City Council races should turn on more important issues, such as the homicide rate and inner-city conditions.

“People make mistakes,” said Dan Cofran, chairman of the Citizens Association political club that endorses Kansas City Council candidates. “When something is overlooked, as long as it’s corrected promptly, I think most people are satisfied.”

Cofran agreed a late tax payment can be “embarrassing, but it’s not debilitating,” as long as it is not seriously delinquent.

“There’s forgetfulness and there’s abuse,” Cofran said.

Some council candidates said their late payments resulted from a county mistake — either with a bill that never arrived because of an incorrect address, because a bill was incomplete, or because taxes were owed by another party. But others acknowledged they need to do better.

James settled his 2014 personal property tax bill on Feb. 2, 2015, more than a month late. He did not pay his 2013 tax until Dec. 5, 2014, more than 11 months late. And he paid his 2012 tax on Feb. 7, 2013, more than a month late.

James has said his wife thought the 2014 tax was paid when she registered a vehicle, but it wasn’t. As for the late payments from 2013 and 2012, he said Tuesday they were oversights.

“It’s a matter of being human and exceptionally busy,” he said. “I am embarrassed by it and sorry that it happened.”

James said that he never intended to avoid tax payments and that when he realized they were late in each of those years, he paid the taxes, plus penalties and fees. He is current on his property taxes and said he has taken steps to make sure he doesn’t fall behind again.

Jim Glover, who is seeking re-election as councilman in the 4th District at large, was repeatedly late with his personal property tax payments from 2009 through 2014 and paid penalties and late fees each year as a result.

In an emailed statement, Glover said, “My taxes are paid in full and current.” But he also pledged, “I definitely will change the method of paying personal property taxes so that they will remain current in the future.”

County officials note it’s not difficult to stay current because taxpayers can go online to pay as late as the evening of Dec. 31 to avoid late fees and penalties.

Chastain’s lawsuit argues that James should be disqualified from running for mayor because of this year’s late payment because it came after the mayor signed an affidavit saying his taxes were current. But the mayor points out that when he signed the affidavit on Dec. 9, 2014, his taxes were current because they didn’t become due until Dec. 31.

And even though he was late paying that Dec. 31 bill, City Attorney Bill Geary said, state law provides a grace period for politicians to get current on their taxes. The mayor did that.

In January 2014, a few candidates in small Missouri cities were disqualified from running for office because of late payments of personal property taxes. But Geary noted that the Missouri General Assembly last year changed the law, disqualifying a candidate from office only if a complaint had been filed with the Department of Revenue and the person failed to settle the municipal tax bill within a 30-day grace period.

Rep. Gina Mitten, a St. Louis Democrat who worked on the state legislation, agreed the mayor had a chance to rectify the situation and isn’t automatically disqualified. She said the grace period is a recognition that candidates get busy and may forget.

“That’s part of why there’s a grace period,” she said. “It slipped their mind.”

But she said Missouri has had problems with candidates who are chronically delinquent and don’t address their taxes. That’s why, Mitten said, they can be disqualified from office if they fail to pay in 30 days.

The Kansas City charter also requires candidates to be paid up to be elected. Geary said the election is June 23, so as long as people are current by then, they are eligible for office.

The challenger in the mayor’s race, Vincent Lee, does not appear to own either residential or personal property, according to Jackson County records. Lee said in a telephone interview that he owns no property on which he would owe any taxes.

Here’s the situation with the council candidates:

▪ In the 1st District, Councilman Dick Davis and challenger Heather Hall have good on-time payment records.

▪ In the 1st District at-large race, Scott Wagner has a good on-time track record, but Jeffrey Roberts has been chronically late with his Clay County payments since 2009. He did not return phone calls seeking comment.

▪ In the 2nd District, Dan Fowler, who is unopposed, has a good on-time record.

▪ In the 2nd District at-large race, Jason Hodges has a good on-time record, but Teresa Loar was late in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Loar said she was in Afghanistan from 2011 through 2013. She also had other life challenges, including dealing with a divorce and dying parents.

“It’s fair game,” she said of the tax payment scrutiny. “Of course we should pay on time. … I certainly will do better in the future.”

▪ In the 3rd District, Councilman Jermaine Reed has been late every year since 2011, some years by a few days but others by months. “I take full responsibility,” he said, pointing out that he is currently paid up.

Challenger Jamekia Kendrix was late between 2011 and 2013 and sent in her car declaration late in 2014.

“I’m human,” she said. “When I recognized I was behind, I paid it.”

▪ In the 3rd District at-large race, candidate Quinton Lucas was late in 2010 and 2013, both in connection with new vehicle purchases. He also has bought vehicles for his mother and sister and thought that obligation had been discharged when it had not. Lucas said he spent four hours at the Jackson County Courthouse on Dec. 30, 2014, to make sure that year’s taxes were paid on time. He said candidates “absolutely” should be current on their taxes.

Jackson County records show candidate Stephan Gordon is currently delinquent for payments on a vehicle. Gordon said the car was titled to his mother and he is not responsible for the tax payments, although he holds his mother’s power of attorney. He acknowledged he needs to get this issue squared away with the county.

▪ In the 4th District, candidates Jolie Justus and John Fierro have good on-time payment records.

▪ In the 4th District at-large race, Glover is challenged by candidate Katheryn Shields. Shields’ husband, Philip Cardarella, has a car in his name. The taxes on that car have been on time since 2010, except for the 2014 bill, which was not paid until April 21, 2015.

Cardarella said he realized the issue when he went to get the car licensed. Then he realized the county had the wrong address on file and he never received the 2014 bill. He said he paid it as soon as he realized it.

▪ In the 5th District, candidate Alissia Canady has a good on-time record, but candidate Ken Bacchus was late in 2012 and 2010. Bacchus said he was unemployed from 2009 to 2011 and had some trouble paying the personal property tax, although he always paid his residential property taxes on time. He said it slipped his mind in 2012, but he has been on time the last two years.

▪ In the 5th District at-large race, candidate Dennis Anthony had a good on-time record until this year, when he and his wife realized that they had not been billed for one of their vehicles from 2014. They went to Jackson County to alert them to the oversight and paid up on Feb. 27, 2015.

Candidate Lee Barnes was late each year from 2010 through 2013. “I think most folks pay them when you get ready to license your car,” he said, adding that he is currently paid up and was on time with his 2014 payment.

▪ In the 6th District at-large race, Scott Taylor, who is unopposed, has a good on-time payment record, as do both 6th District candidates, Kevin McManus and Terrence Nash.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Late tax payments are common from Kansas City Council candidates."