By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
A publicly funded nonprofit, a county commissioner candidate and many others appear on a list of delinquent taxpayers published in today’s Washington Daily News.
Some of the past-due balances were paid before the list was published.
One of the bills was paid in response to an inquiry from the Daily News.
The delinquent-taxes list and clarifying information accompanying the list were requested by Daily News reporters Tuesday.
One notable nonprofit on the list is Metropolitan Housing and Community Development Corp. The corporation had an outstanding tax bill of $7,768.43, according to records from the Beaufort County tax collector’s office.
Among the properties on which Metropolitan was past due were apparently separate parcels located at or around the same address — 102 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
That address is the one listed for MHCDC and Metropolitan Community Health Services, both of which have received state and federal funding, mostly in the form of grants.
One parcel, located at 102 W. Fourth St., which was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Drive — 1.49 acres — shows a net balance due of $2,203.14.
The Rev. David L. Moore is president and chief executive officer of Metropolitan. Moore is a Democrat and former Beaufort County commissioner.
Moore is listed as the registered agent for both nonprofits, according to documents available on the N.C. secretary of state’s Web site.
Contacted by telephone Tuesday, Moore indicated he was unaware of the past-due bills.
“We’re on that list?” he asked. “How much do we owe?”
Told how much the bills amounted to, he replied, “I will make sure to get it straight today.”
Later, Moore called back to say the bills “should be taken care of” before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The tax collector’s office confirmed that a partial payment had been made by 5.
In March 2008, the county commissioners approved a one-time appropriation of $279,000 for Agape Community Health Clinic in Washington.
The clinic is under the aegis of Metropolitan Community Health Services.
The county money was described as start-up capital for Agape’s dental clinic.
Metropolitan’s Web site says the entity is “a non-profit, faith-based organization” that “has developed more than 900 units of safe, sanitary, affordable single- and multi-family housing as well as needs-appropriate housing for seniors, survivors of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS patients and their families, and people with handicaps.”
Also on the delinquent taxpayers list is Bath Bridgewater South LLC.
The limited liability corporation owes $29,920.21 in taxes on properties at the Bridgewater South residential development in Bath, records show.
The registered agent for the entity is John Baldwin, the N.C. secretary of state’s Web site reads.
John Baldwin is the husband of Beaufort County commissioner candidate Cindy Baldwin, a Republican.
Cindy Baldwin has described herself as having worked with her husband as a developer.
The address of the LLC is 115 N. Main St., Bath, which is the Baldwins’ address.
The North Main Street property carries a net balance due of $3,219.28, the records show.
Cindy Baldwin couldn’t be reached for comment immediately Tuesday.
Also on the list is Stan Deatherage, an incumbent Republican seeking re-election to the Board of Commissioners.
Deatherage said that his tax issues are related to property that he owned jointly with his late father.
“I thought I got it all paid,” he told the Daily News.
The tax office confirmed that Deatherage had paid most of his tax bills, including the majority of those on the list.
There is $6,157.60 outstanding on two pieces of property which show Deatherage as one of the owners. Those properties are “in dispute,” the tax office said.
Staff Writer Betty Mitchell Gray contributed to this story.