KEYSER, W.Va. (WV News) — Since taking office in 2017, Mineral County sheriff Forrest “Buddy” Ellifritz has collected $496,902.84 in back taxes for the county.
Ellifritz, who was elected in 2016, told the Mineral County Commissioners at one point that it is his duty, as chief tax officer for the county, to collect the taxes owed by businesses and individuals.
“The state code says it’s my duty to collect the taxes, and I’m going to collect them,” Ellifritz said during a previous commission meeting. “Whether I’ve got to chain some doors or seize some equipment, we’re going to collect these taxes.”
During the commission’s April 25 meeting, he reported that, between 2017 and 2021, a total of $637,183.51 was owed in back taxes.
With the collection so far, a large chunk of that has been recovered.
“We also have $28,000 in progress in Magistrate Court,” he said. “
Taking the taxpayers to court doesn’t always ensure they will pay up, however.
“We do have some writs of execution that we have to get served on people who were rendered judgement but still haven’t paid,” he said, adding that some of them are out of state and hard to find.
Ellifritz remains optimistic, however, that the money will be recovered.
“We should be caught up by the ’22 taxes … and be able to keep up year to year after that,” he said.
Both Ellifritz and commission president Jerry Whisner noted that, up until the current administration, no one had apparently been attempting to collect back taxes.
“It’s my understanding this has not been done before,” Ellifritz said, to which Whisner added, “It hasn’t been done since I’ve been here, and that’s ten years.”
You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Post a comment as Anonymous Commenter
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.