Who should pay fair board’s back taxes?
Who’s going to pay about $17,000 in back sales taxes that the Mille Lacs County Agricultural Society (fair board) owes the state?
Mille Lacs County Board Chairman Jack Edmonds brought that question up at the board’s July 17 meeting.
Edmonds, also a member of the fair board for six years, told fellow commissioners about the bill and how it came about.
He said there was a question for a long time about whether or not the fair board should charge sales tax at its back gate, the gate where drivers enter to compete at Princeton Speedway, a track run by the fair board.
“I guess the question was because the revenue there helps pay the drivers, just like premiums help pay the prizes at county fairs,” he said.
Edmonds said longtime fair board secretary Judy Gerth could never get an answer at state conventions held for fair boards.
“Our auditor said we didn’t have to pay it so we didn’t,” Edmonds said.
But two years ago the state made a ruling that the tax had to be paid and the fair board has been paying it since, Edmonds said Friday.
The state audited the fair board’s books and went back two and a half years (not the seven years it could have, he said) and determined that the fair board owes about $17,000.
Edmonds then had a conversation with County Administrator Roxy Traxler who notified him that it was legal for a county board to pay the bill.
“So I’m going to take a shot at it,” Edmonds said Monday.
He wanted to talk about it at the next meeting of the board on Aug. 7 but commissioners Frank Courteau and Phil Peterson will miss that meeting and they requested that it be delayed until the Aug. 17 meeting.
The proposal will be made then, Edmonds said.
“We’ll get it paid,” he said, “but it’s not in our [fair board] budget. I hope the county will pay it.”
Here we go again. Jack Edmonds is chairman of the county board and sits on the fair board and doesn’t know that when you need an answer to a question you should go to the source? The state charges taxes and Mr. Edmonds and Ms. Gerth look for answers at fair board conventions? Mr. Edmonds seemed to know enough to go to the county administrator and look for a loophole to have the rest of us pay for his mistake. Mr. Edmonds, don’t get me wrong, mistakes happen. I know that. I’ve made plenty, but I pay for my own mistakes. If you had spent the time finding the correct answer that you spent looking for the loophole we would not be in this predicament.
It’s time to make a change. When elected officials make blatant, foolish mistakes it’s time for THEM to pay the piper. I think it’s ironic that the amount owed is about the same amount Mr. Edmonds is paid for a year on the board. Short answer from the board when the question arises should be, “Mr. Chairman, you made a foolish, very avoidable, mistake, by not going to the source for the information you needed. We as a board believe you should pay the bill personally.”
Before I get the “but if politicians were held responsible for their own errors, no one would run for office” lecture, let me ask you this: So? Would we be any worse off? The county is run by a county administrator now. Even though it seems she couldn’t find the answer to the tax question – or maybe she wasn’t asked – she seems to be able to find loopholes for the board. Put a volunteer committee together to keep an eye on the administrator and let her do the job. If she messes it up, find another person who will do it right. I know I can’t afford to keep paying for Mr. Edmonds’ mistakes.