Judge rules 2,000 percent tax hike fair

Irons gave the right ruling. It reflects both the law and justice, not always the same thing.

Yes I agree,

please, Mamjom...you wouldn't know the law or justice if it hit you in the forehead

can you say Constitutional Violation according to the US Supreme Court in an appeal from the WV Supreme Court of Appeals in Allegheney Coal v. Webster County? but i guess your scholarly research failed to reveal the actual law of the land, which the Assesor, County Commission and Judge simply ignored

this was neither lawful nor just

fair is fair--- that is not fair

justice wrote:

please, Mamjom...you wouldn't know the law or justice if it hit you in the forehead
can you say Constitutional Violation according to the US Supreme Court in an appeal from the WV Supreme Court of Appeals in Allegheney Coal v. Webster County? but i guess your scholarly research failed to reveal the actual law of the land, which the Assesor, County Commission and Judge simply ignored
this was neither lawful nor just
fair is fair--- that is not fair

Well to start with Walnut Springs,thinks they can come into monroe county and develope high dollar housing, and have taxes bases on that of wood land,property tax,get real.I think the Assesor and the county Commission and the judge all did what was right,if the developers dont like it let then then appeal to the Supreme Court.They are just trying to make a lot of money off the county,

Mamjom

Did you read the WV Code, the WV consitution, the court's decision or anything except an article? I doubt it. This has nothing to do with woodlands. It has to do with insiders stealing from the couunty and their own children, when they fail to pay their fair share of taxes when they want others to pay 500pct, 1000pct, 2000 pct and more.

In fact, the county is illegally and unfairly trying to make a lot of money off of hardworking people who they feel are "outsiders," despite the fact that many are native and current residents of beautiful WV.
The developers are trying to bring money INTO the county - have you noticed that one of Governor Manchin's biggest initiatives is ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT??? Monroe County residents should be pleased to have such development, given that it is being done in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Taxing in the unfair manner attempted by the County has driven out the very people who could come in and bring money to the county to help the county and the schools - including creating more jobs for laborers, builders, local businesses, etc.- not to mention county tax transfer stamps. Does this not mean anything to you? Perhaps then it is very true that Monroe County schools desperately need more funds to educate the children. And your own elected officials do not pay even a fraction of their fair share of taxes-- in fact, look on the public MRC website.

Commission President Porterfield (a realtor) had taxes on his investment properties has gone down in th last 8 years. NONE are taxed anywhere near fair market value. Thus he knows he is stealing from the children and taxpayers of the county. He is a straight up two-faced crook. The same is true for Commissioner Ashley's home, commercial and investment properties----- their assesments, unbelievably have gone down. So too has the assesments and taxes of many insiders who are stealing from law abiding taxpayers by knowingly allowing themselves to be undervalued and undertaxed -- at 10pct of the lawful rate. Just look at the $35 an acre values for Porterfield-- and Porterfield and Ashley homes valued under $25,000. Please, this is simple straight up theft. Yet Walnut Springs owners have to pay between 2000 pct and up to 10000 pct. All of this in the face of Donna Huffman's 2007 BOE sworn testimony that she raised taxes on all property in the county,commercial and residential, all 12000 parcels, by 21pct over the last 2 years. She has perjured herself under oath. Just look on the site. If this is true (and I can assure you it is-- just check) do you still believe you are right?

This is not about an opinion or feeling, it is about the law and the constitutional rights of landowners, which the county is intentionally violating. It is illegal, in black and white by US Supreme Court law and by the assesor's own land books. They spent $75,000 of your tax dollars on litigating this fool's errand. They will lose in the end. And you will lose too. It is fraud and theft from the public, pure and simple. They are cheating you, and you are too blind to see it. They can do this to anyone, they think.

I am an interested person residing in Monroe County that would like very much to discuss the above referenced topic with you. I assure you that you will be interested in the discussion. Oh Justice....Oh Justice....how may I contact thou? I in fact agree with you and look forward to the conversation.

Most of us allready knew porterfield and some others were thieves.But to say that you and some like you are being driven out buy taxing,well pay your fair share,You think you can buy cheap,build nice homes and get by with out paying a higher tax,lmao.I think the ruling was fair, and you have the nerve to talk about donna Huffman sounds like she did her part,being you and the rest on the walnut Springs land deal cant screw the county.so stop your crying,and get over it.You all come here thinking your going to make quick money off the county with high dollar housing, and get buy for nothing.it dont work were you came from, and it wont work here ether.But I will say the county needs to get Porterfield and some more out.an get this county back to the front,the days of the good ol boys is over, it dont work.

All Walnut Springs owners, I am certain, like any other law abiding and responsible property owner in the county, are willing to pay their fair share. Not 10x or 20x or 100x their fair share. Dingo, Justice only wants the County elected officials and their cronies to pay their fair share, and not to lie and cheat the children and citizens of the county. The public records show they have lied and cheated and continue to. The developers brought enormous revenue into the county and paid very significant tax on it. They brought work, commerce and people and tourism to the county. They are promoting responsible economic development (and by way of restrictive covenants) mandating environmentally responsible development and have put millions of dollars in investment into the county and have taken no county services. They have paid their taxes on all the land sales in the form of tax transfer stamps at a fair and equitable rate based on the sales price of the lots-- according to the assessor’s office, over $80,000 to date. If it were not for these tax stamp revenues, the county would have run out of money in 06 because your leaders are so fiscally clueless and irresponsible (and because the elected officials are tax cheats). Please look at the FACTS, in PUBLIC RECORDS, which you appear not to know or have deliberately ignored.

Donna Huffman admitted under oath in testimony before Oliver Porterfield and Shane Ashley as the BOE that she had failed to do her job and did not even know how to do it - frequently requiring the ongoing assistance of tax department officials from regional offices. She testified that she failed every single tax department compliance check-- every one-- the state said repeatedly in public documents she doesn't know how to do her job. Under oath, Ms. Huffman agreed (or blamed her computer). I am not saying this to denigrate Ms. Huffman, but fact is fact and she is an elected official who should know the ins and outs of her job and be held accountable for any failure to do so. She testified under oath that she did not even realize that state law MANDATES that she re-assess all property in the county every 3 years, yet she clearly hasn't done so -- many of the properties have not been reassessed in 20 or more years!
Ms. Huffman unequivocally perjured herself claiming untrue facts to the court about how she raised taxes "across the board" for everyone in the county, "residential and commercial" in the past 2 years by 21%, all 12,300 parcels. Yes, everyone -- unless they are an elected official or a good ole boy friend of an elected official:) Theirs don't get raised-- theirs get LOWERED by Ms. Huffman's manufacture, false and lying appraisal values that go down, while law abiding citizens' and tax payers' values and resultant tax bills go up.

In the face of Donna Huffman's outright bald faced lies under oath, the public records tell the true story. Just look. Commissioner Porterfield and high and mighty Commissioner Ashley never got any such raise. Their taxes went DOWN over the last 9 years----LOOK AND SEE in the public records at www.monroecountywv.net (tax inquiry link). Porterfield's realtor brother John got the same special cheater's deal. This is outrageous, unfair and fraudulent conduct. It is betrayal of the public trust and the fact that you are not outraged by it confounds me.
There are many more examples, but those two Darlings, Porterfield and Ashley, sit on the Board of Equalization, and decide if all taxes are fair under the constitution in relation to the taxes of others. This simple concept is constitutional-- it is called "equal protection" or in modern parlance "non-discrimination. " This is the law of the land - not just West Virginia, but the United States. Porterfield and Ashley (and others) knew Huffman's testimony was intentionally untruthful, i.e., full of lies. How? They knew their own residential, commercial and investment property assessments and taxes went down without explanation (well, they are WV elected officials:)) Porterfield and his brother are realtors-- they can't claim not to know. Neither can businessman Ashley. They don't care about the law, the US or WV constitutions. They don't care about the county. They only care about their own pocketbooks and how they can cheat the public for their own gain. I am not making this up. All you have to do is just go look on the web at their land and home values. For improvements, the figures are all around or below $25,000 for the fair market value of their homes. You can't even get a good, used double - wide for that, and Porterfield and Ashley ain't living in any doublewide, I can assure you.

Your own elected officials (and their crony, sleazy friends) are conspiring illegally to screw MRC and pay less than their fair share, while stealing from the county roads, schools, services and children. They are the ones, as you say who "want to get buy with nothing." They are the ones who are, as you say, "screw[ing]the county" right in front of your face and laughing about it all the way to the bank. Your elected officials don't want to pay their fair share-- they pay 10 percent or less that the law says in many instances (because they have the elected appraiser make their property value tiny on the assessment)-- and everyone in the county either doesn't know or allows this systematic conspiracy of sleazery and graft. This conduct is unquestionably criminal and abuse of public office.
Many others like the Watchman ITSELF, and editor Mohler, are lying to you every day with self-dealing, self-aggrandizing propaganda. Look at Mohler's articles re this issue and then look at the Watchman tax tickets, and those of its publisher and family on the county website. Everyone's taxes supposedly are going up according to Donna Huffman's sworn testimony before the BOE under oath? Mohler's commercial property taxes have GONE DOWN-- and his other taxes have not gone up. Same is true for his mom and brother the prosecutor. Hmmmmmmmmm. They appear to be some special kind of tax exempt-- the home cookin' kind.

The law says everyone is supposed to pay tax based on fair market value. Mohler's Watchman building (a beautiful old home and land) together in the tax records is under $30,000 with value going down and taxes too. Wow, what a deal! His family has tax bills that never got the 21 pct increase over 2 years Ms. Huffman swore in court she gave the entire county. Wow, what a coincidence-- the prosecutor and the publisher and former "Public Good" commissioner's taxes are going in the wrong direction.
Mohler claims to be an unbiased journalist. Yet knowing Huffman was lying (he sat in for the testimony) Craig writes from the Bully-Pulpit in his propaganda rag that the tax treatment "is fair, and within the law." He writes this knowing full well he is DELIBERATELY LYING to his readers. Mohler knew before he published that lying, self-dealing tripe that Huffman had perjured herself. He knew it from his own business and personal tax bills. Just look at them on line to see what a no good, low-down, two-faced liar he is. The "public good"-- oh please. The only thing he finds good about the public is that they pay the tax burden while he fraudulently skates away and lies to the good public about it. He is laughing all the way to the bank. The WV and US Constitutions and journalistic ethics are all meaningless to him. All he wants to do is pay less than his fair share with his political insider sleazy crony friends, break the law, and write his drivel. He laughs all the way to the bank when citizens of MRC believe his self-dealing fairy tales about the law. He is a tax cheat, plain and simple. He is no journalist, that is for sure.
Look, you can say what you want (thanks to the US Constitution which guarantees your right to fair speech AND the rights of equal protection) but what you say should have a rational basis, Dingo. Check out the facts. This special tax plan is anything but fair-- it isn't fair these sleazebags lie to you all while stealing school and road funds while keeping the $$$$ for themselves. They don't want you to really educate yourself on this issue. Look at the public records Dingo; they are in black and white. Then post a reply based on something other than emotion.
This is not fair to anyone-- and it is criminal-- the laws apply to everyone-- not everyone except "public officials." The laws apply especially to those public officials whose sworn duty is to lawfully uphold the laws. What example are they setting?? The old school criminal cabal of the county has pulled the wool over the public's eyes for their own good-- not the public good. It is time for this to stop. This election cycle is a good time to start to put these pathetic excuses for public servants out of the business of taking $25,000 of your tax dollars (their Commissioner's annual salaries) while cheating and defrauding the county and its citizens. This is not acceptable. These people must go (at least out of office, if not to jail). Honest new blood needs to replace them. The time is now.

Your own elected officials (and their crony, sleazy friends) are conspiring illegally to screw MRC and pay less than their fair share, while stealing from the county roads, schools, services and children. They are the ones, as you say who "want to get buy with nothing." They are the ones who are, as you say, "screw[ing]the county" right in front of your face and laughing about it all the way to the bank. Your elected officials don't want to pay their fair share-- they pay 10 percent or less that the law says in many instances (because they have the elected appraiser make their property value tiny on the assessment)-- and everyone in the county either doesn't know or allows this systematic conspiracy of sleazery and graft. This conduct is unquestionably criminal and abuse o public office.
Many others like the Watchman ITSELF, and editor Mohler, are lying to you every day with self-dealing, self-aggrandizing propaganda. Look at Mohler's articles re this issue and then look at the Watchman tax tickets, and those of its publisher and family on the county website. Everyone's taxes supposedly are going up according to Donna Huffman's sworn testimony before the BOE under oath? Mohler's commercial property taxes have GONE DOWN-- and his other taxes have not gone up. Same is true for his mom and brother the prosecutor. Hmmmmmmmmm. They appear to be some special kind of tax. Don't you want better?

OK, I asked for that,1st off I do agree with what you have said.as do a lot of people in the county,But I have all ready made it clear about some of them,in other posts,You haven't even broke the ice about the thieves in the county,and as far as the editer of the watchman, I've told him, myself even when he was on the county commission that he was a crock,I wrote him letters to the editer, which never got to print, I gave Names,which was his and his brothers, and a few more.SO like i said Monroe county needs change,The good ol boys have stole to much from the county.But every time I get started some one tells me I need Anger Manegment classes.

Justice.....I need to speak with you and give you information that will further your cause in making the assessments more equitable. Is there an e-mail address or phone number where you can be reached?

Looking for Justice-- please e-mail me @ meshuggena@live.com I look forward to corresponding with you.

I just sent you a message to you e-mail....am curious how you'll respond.

walnut spring, is it unfair to tax the land according to what you paid for it sorry i dont think so stop your moaning and payup this county is in need of your tax dollars so we can protect it and no im not a good ol boy just a person with enough common sence to see that you are tearing the people you sold the land to a new one and cant take paying a lil more taxes that use to be a rock cliff and a north hill side you paved roads and put elaberate houses on the land no sht the taxes will go up 20 time doesnt seem that bad to me if i take a farm and put a development in it my taxes are going to go up dip sht im not going complian

Oh,WHY are you paying your taxes based on the fair market value of your land, ie the price it would sell on the market? Loook at your own tax ticket. Even if it went up 21 pct in the last 2 years it is likely far below fair market value. Give me your parcel number, I will gladly check. If I am paying on the value thge land or home is sols for so should everyone. The problem is insiders pay on 1/10th or 1/20th or 1/50th of FMV, cheating the county. Other normal folk are hurt by the self dealing tax cheating your elected officials do for themselves and tyheir freinds. Then there are those, apparently like you, who don't understand the constitutional concept of equal protection. Only someone un-American or just a jerk would believe that elected officials can tax one set of people at one rate, another set at a whole different rate, and then cook the books so their own taxes never go up. The county needs your tax dollars too. Everyone should pay apples to apples, not apples to diamonds and gold. FMV equal FMV, not lies made up by the Commission and Assesor. Let me see your tax ticket-- we will see what kind of citizen you are.

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The problem isn't the math at Walnut Springs, it is in the special one tax for outsider, another tax for insider, and yet another tax for normal folk, all unequal and thus illegal and unfair. Y:ou would scream if it was you. The other problem, to use your words, is that a "dip sht" like you thinks that is okay and fair. If people are uninformed and think like you when they vote, then the county can count on never getting tax revenue as no one would move to,buy, build or live in a county where one is forced to pay at 20x or 100x what others do. You clearly have no understanding of the US or WV constitution, tax laws or fundamental fairness. You are in favor of elected officials stealing, and apparently don't even want to pay your own fair way. Brilliant thinking, like yours (LOL) won't get the tax revenue you appear to understand the county needs. You apparently, knowing the county's needs, are even unwilling to pay your own fair share. You must not run a business because your math skills are definitely lacking, and so is your judgment. You condone this. You think this is okay. This makes you, as you say, a "dip sht."