Paul Fallon, DAILY MAIL Staff

CHARLESTON, W.Va.: Russell Carpenter, 76, of Sutton, thought he was getting a pretty good deal when he purchased a 6.5-acre property for about $3,100 at the Braxton County tax sale.

But, little did the retired construction supervisor realize that the property was in fact owned by the county commission and was the site of the Braxton County 911 Center/EMS and represented an approximately $1.5 million investment by the county.

The property was sold at auction due to an oversight by the sheriff’s office, Braxton County Commission President David Jack Sr. said. The county has owned the property for a little over two years, he said.

The 911 Center and Emergency Medical Service has been operating in the facility since early October, Jack said.

The county purchased the site from Buckhannon-based Newlons International for about $600,000 to turn it into the new 911 Center and EMS building. But the previous owners owed about $3,100 in back taxes on the property.

Commissioners knew the site was placed on the list of properties to be auctioned off for back taxes. They contacted the former owner and asked them to take care of the back taxes to no avail, Jack said.

“This should have been taken care of when the attorneys prepared our deed and closed on the building,” he said. “But for some reason it wasn’t.”

Jack also said the commissioners believed that the sheriff would remove the property from the sales list, but that was not done either, he said.

“The delinquent tax ticket wasn’t in the commission’s name of course,” Jack said. “And for some reason it wasn’t taken off the list.”

“It was just an oversight,” he said. “These things happen.”

State code allows the sheriff to remove property from the auction if a question concerning the taxes arises, Jack said.

The property was sold right around the same time the commission was to hold an open house showcasing the new 911 Center and EMS facility.

The commission contacted the county prosecuting attorney to see what direction they needed to take to make sure their new investment wasn’t turned over to a private citizen.

The prosecuting attorney advised the commissioners that they did not have to pay the back taxes. County agencies are not required to pay taxes and Jack said the commission wasn’t about to “shell out” over $3,000.

The sale has been nullified and Carpenter’s money will be refunded, Jack said.

Carpenter said he has not been contacted by the commission about a refund of his money.

“I’ve never heard about this being done before,” he said.

Carpenter said he was purchasing the land as an investment. A property owner whose land has been sold at a tax auction has 18 months to pay the back taxes on the site.

In order to keep from losing the property, the owner also has to pay .75 percent interest per month on the back taxes. This money goes to the individual or company that purchased the land at the auction.

Carpenter said he had no idea that the land belonged to the county and was the home of the 911 Center and EMS.

“I had no idea what the property was until after the sale,” he said. “I was surprised to find out what the land actually was.”

The commission will try to collect the back taxes from the Buckhannon company.

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