According to the eMissourian, Paul House of Harvest Ministries and his wife were both sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay over $80,000 in restitution for Social Security fraud.
The sentence means the House’s avoided the expected jail term.
Harvest Ministries owns the old Western buildings down town where the planned to put in a television studio and medical testing facility.
You can read more details in our previous story about Harvest Ministries and the building.
The buildings have enough unpaid taxes that they should be listed on the upcoming tax sale. However, since they were not published in the past, they will have to wait to be sold until they have been published for three years.
Just another mess that we as taxpayers are carrying on our shoulders because our treasurer choose not to publish these properties. This was not a computer error but something she choose to do. So how much longer do we wait until we hear something from the AG or KBI? It has been way too long. This first was brought to the attention of the commissioners in August 2011. Seems like we need to put some fire under someone. This is a black eye for our county and not because a few of us want what is right for our taxes.
Why doesn’t this apply? Statute 79-2302: Listing of real estate subject to sale, contents; notice of sale, contents. Between July 1 and July 10 of each year, the county treasurer shall prepare a list of all real estate subject to sale, describing the real estate in the same manner as described of record in the office of the county clerk or the register of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located. The county treasurer also shall prepare an accompanying notice stating that the county treasurer will sell the real estate described in the list to the county for the amount of the delinquent taxes and legal charges due on the real estate and that the sale will be on or after the first Tuesday of September following publication of the notice under K.S.A. 79-2303, and amendments thereto. The list shall show the names of the owners of the real estate, as shown of record in the office of the county clerk or the register of deeds of the county in which the real estate is located, the description and address, if available, of each tract or parcel of land and the total of the amount of unpaid taxes upon each tract or parcel. If any county treasurer at any time discovers that any tract or lot of real estate has not been put on the list of delinquent taxes and not sold for any preceding year, the treasurer shall be required to place the omitted tract or lot on the list of delinquent taxes for the current year, and sell the tract or lot as directed by this act in other cases. ***In three years, if not sooner, the building will probably be condemned or should be and become the responsibility of the City of Fort Scott – we who live within the city limits.