Friday, Apr 2, 2010 Posted on Thu, Mar. 11, 2010
Palmetto police chief delinquent on property taxes
By BETH BURGER
bburger@bradenton.com
PALMETTO — The Palmetto police chief is delinquent on property taxes for nearly a dozen properties in Manatee County, according to tax records.

Half of those properties owned by Garry Lowe and his wife, Paula Scott Lowe, are in the city of Palmetto. The others are in unincorporated Manatee County. He has purchased most of his property in the last 10 years, according to tax collector records.

Lowe has an estimated $20,000 in delinquent taxes — not including 2009 taxes — according to tax bills with a March 31 due date listed.

Lowe cited the economy as the reason he has not paid his taxes.

“Those houses where I didn’t pay them, they will get paid,” he said Wednesday night.

He said he will try to sell some of the properties when the real estate market improves.

Lowe, who has worked for the police department since 1981, makes an annual salary of $94,135 per year, not including benefits as police chief.

The city of Palmetto collects 25 percent of its revenue from property taxes to go toward a $35 million operating budget. The police department Lowe oversees spends $3.7 million, or 11 percent, of the budget.

Some of Lowe’s properties are vacant; none are marked with for-sale signs.

Lowe said he has mortgages and insurance on all of the properties. His wife manages their property, he said.

The Lowes own a total of 16 properties throughout Manatee County. Out of those properties, 11 of the parcels are delinquent in taxes dating back to 2008.

There were two properties that were delinquent from 2007 taxes, records showed Tuesday.

But after Lowe was contacted Wednesday morning by the Bradenton Herald, he paid off those 2007 delinquent taxes — $6,699 — later the same day, according to tax collector records.

Unpaid taxes for 2009 become delinquent April 1, according to tax officials.

On June 1, liens are placed on properties with delinquent taxes, and the county auctions off the interest rate on each unpaid property to make up the difference until the owner pays.

After two years, if taxes remain unpaid, the owner risks losing the property to certificate holders, who can auction off the property to get a return on their investment.

The two-year grace period gives property owners some leeway.

“It gives them a little more time with the way the system works,” said Tax Collector Ken Burton Jr.

Court records show no foreclosures filed against Lowe’s properties.

Lowe is not alone in letting his tax bills go.

“Garry is probably like a lot of landlords. You have these additional properties where you may not have tenants. They are land rich and money poor,” said Ray Williams, director of delinquent collections. “I think most people will be surprised to see that he owns this much property.”

The Lowes’ home is among the properties not delinquent in taxes, Williams said.

Unpaid taxes have surged in recent years with the recession, Burton said.

For the 2006 tax year, $11.8 million in property taxes went unpaid. In 2007, that number reached $24.4 million, and in 2008, it climbed to $28.6 million.

Still, a vast majority of property owners in Manatee County — 95 percent — pay their taxes on time despite a struggling economy, Burton said.



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