Thursday, May 04, 2000
Lawsuit escalates Butler battle
Prosecutor's action says auditor erred
By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — Butler County Prosecutor John F. Holcomb filed a lawsuit against county Auditor Kay Rogers on Wednesday, alleging she improperly forgave $9,848 in tax penalties and interest.
The lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court was the latest volley in an escalating political battle between Ms. Rogers and Mr. Holcomb. “John Holcomb, the tax man! Isn't this something? This just proves my point that he is intentionally going after me,” Ms. Rogers said. “I'm through being nice to Mr. Holcomb. He's a nasty, evil man, and the gloves are off!”
Mr. Holcomb fired back, responding sarcastically: “Lord have mercy on me.”
The lawsuit, which seeks to force Ms. Rogers to reinstate the penalties and interest, is frivolous and makes no sense, Ms. Rogers said. The auditor's office has no power to forgive taxes — and can only consult with Treasurer Mary C. Law's office, which issues paperwork to Ms. Rogers' office when tax penalties are “remitted,” Ms. Rogers said.
“You tell him he's got the wrong "little gal,' as he would say,” Ms. Rogers said. Mrs. Law couldn't be reached for comment and other members of her staff declined to comment Wednesday.
Ms. Rogers has been embroiled in personal and political turmoil in recent months.
After a bitter divorce, her ex-husband filed a lawsuit against her, and last month filed a criminal charge that led to her arrest for alleged telephone harassment. On Sunday, Ms. Rogers' sister was arrested on a domestic violence charge for allegedly slapping Ms. Rogers.
The auditor also has been in a number of skirmishes with Mr. Holcomb. In December, Mr. Holcomb announced he had filed an Ohio Ethics Commission complaint against her. Ms. Rogers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that he publicized false statements about her in that complaint.
Mr. Holcomb has not responded to The Cincinnati Enquirer's attempts to obtain documents that might show the outcome of his complaint.
Ms. Rogers said the lawsuit Mr. Holcomb filed Wednesday was more fodder for Mr. Holcomb's “fight for his political life.” Mr. Holcomb, the sole Democrat holding countywide office in Butler County, is facing a vigorous challenge from Robin Piper, the Republican nominee for prosecutor.
Mr. Holcomb pointed out that documents from Mrs. Law's office, which remitted the penalties owed by Champion East Ltd. and One Seventy-Seven West on 17 parcels last year, bear the notation, “Per request of Kay Rogers, auditor.”
Ms. Rogers says that indicates only that she discussed the matter with Mrs. Law's office; she said the practice of forgiving penalties is legal and has been done in Butler County since before she became auditor in 1995.
Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes, who was traveling with Ms. Rogers from an auditors' association meeting in Columbus, said unless there are some irregularities that aren't apparent at first blush, the situation sounds “nutty” to him.
“What kind of Banana Republic are they running up there?” he asked. “You can't sue the auditor for something the treasurer told them to do. Whenever anybody has a problem with a penalty, they have to go to the treasurer, not the auditor.”
Ms. Rogers said if a taxpayer is making a good-faith effort to get caught up on his tax bill, even the IRS has been known to abate penalties.
Under past practice in Butler County, a landowner could be granted one abatement on penalties, but would still be required to pay regular taxes and interest, she said. The property owner in question, whom Ms. Rogers identified as Irv Tessler, asked for a second abatement earlier this year and was rebuffed, Ms. Rogers said.
Lynn Edward Kinkaid, chief deputy auditor/administration, conceded that the state tax commissioner's office is supposed to give final approval for abatements, and it was unclear Wednesday whether that approval had been obtained for the instances Mr. Holcomb cited.
Even if such a situation occurred, “It sure sounds like a real minor issue that could have been handled with a phone call or a letter, not with a lawsuit,” said Konrad Kircher, a lawyer representing Ms. Rogers in the federal civil-rights suit she filed against Mr. Holcomb in January.
It's unclear how the case will proceed, said Cindy Carpenter, county clerk of courts, because county judges would have a conflict of interest hearing a case against a county official.
Steve Kemme contributed to this report.
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