At least two Hampton City Council candidates have been on the city’s radar due to delinquent tax payments.
According to records obtained from City Treasurer Molly Ward, candidates Steven L. Brown and Richelle D. Wallace have been habitually late paying their Hampton taxes, often requiring the city to issuing liens to collect back payments.
A third council candidate, William J. Spencer, has also faced multiple collection efforts but said a city error contributed in part to his delinquency.
Some liens involve placing a stop on car registrations, garnishing wages and even seizing of state income tax refunds, in order to collect payments.
Ward did not specify whether the delinquent payments were personal property taxes, real estate taxes or both. She confirmed there have been repeated late payments requiring extreme collection methods.
“It’s a pattern for some of these folks,” Ward said. “I find it very difficult to be supportive of those who require extraordinary measures. These are people who will be making budget decisions.”
Brown and Wallace are among a packed field of eight running for Hampton City Council next month. The city has three at-large seats open. Two incumbents, Jimmy Gray and Teresa Schmidt are running for reelection. Others in the race include Eleanor W. Brown, Michael A. Harris, and Brett B. Ribblett and William J. Spencer.
City Council members vote on a budget almost entirely dependent on tax revenue, which supports operating costs for city services, such as fire and police or other essential services, Ward said.
A review of the city property tax rolls shows all the candidates are current on their bills through June 5, when the next semi-annual payments are due.
But in terms of personal property tax payments — which accounts for 18 percent of all city revenue intake — Ward said the city resorted to collection efforts consistently ever year within the last five years to retrieve payments from Brown and Wallace. As of last Friday, Wallace still showed outstanding amounts.
The city treasurer’s office records show collection efforts were used against Brown and Wallace on semi-annual tax payments — twice a year — every year from 2013 through 2017. For Spencer, the records showed collection efforts during 2015, 2016 and 2017. Harris, also had collection efforts against him in 2013 and 2017, according to city records.
In most cases, the candidates have cited financial hardship and periods of unemployment while trying to raise a family caused the delays in payment.
Wallace, 47, a Hampton University graduate and single mother with a teenage daughter, said she has been unemployed for a few years and has struggled to pay her mortgage.
Wallace served with the Hampton Fire Department for nearly 20 years. She cited workplace abuse and discrimination, which led her to sue the city in 2015 for race and gender discrimination. She settled with the city for an undisclosed amount.
Wallace said the main reason she seeks office is because she believes the city does not invest enough in its citizens.
“I am honest and upfront,” adding, she is not purposely avoiding paying her taxes.
Brown, 58, the chairman of the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Agency, works at Riverside Health Systems as a bereavement counselor. He receives a city stipend of $150 for his role as the HRHA chairman. His term as chairman expires in 2019.
He admits the city has levied an employment lien on him in the past, but since 2017 he has been current on his tax bills. He added that missing payments was not intentional and he is remorseful.
“Moving forward, this is not going to happen again. I also hope the community would understand that I have 40-plus years invested in the city,” Brown said. “Judge me on the body of work that I have done in this community.”
Spencer, a branch manager for National Exterminating, said the amount was inaccurate on some of his personal property because the city listed him with three vehicles when he only had one.
“It wasn’t the right amount and I told them I wasn’t paying until it was accurate,” Spencer said, adding the issues have been resolved and he has paid his taxes.
Ward said her office does regular updates to adjust customer accounts. However, if there is a change in a status, ownership, transfer of vehicles, or if a person moves, it is the customer’s responsibility to call the treasurer’s office before the bill goes delinquent.
“We send out bills with the information we have. They will send out delinquent notices,” she said. “You need to make a call before the bill comes due.”
All candidates are required to submit a financial disclosure statement to the city registrar.
Personal property tax revenue is among the top five revenue sources for Hampton. . For the coming fiscal year that begins July 1, the city took in $39.8 million in personal property tax revenue and collected $450,000 in delinquent taxes.
Ward said missing payments affects the city’s cash flow, and that collection efforts are costly and time consuming.
“This is expensive, difficult and requires an enormous amount of resources,” Ward said. “Not only is it unfair to all of the citizens that pay on time, it places a strain on the very funds council is responsible for protecting.”
Ward, a former city mayor and treasurer more than a decade ago, came back earlier this year as city treasurer after running uncontested in 2017.
Vernon Sparks can be reached by phone at 757-247-4832
