County reaches tax interest settlement with MLO/O-N Minerals

Rather than continuing to pursue tax interest and penalties owed by O-N Minerals (formerly Michigan Limestone Operations), members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners unanimously followed the recommendation of their bankruptcy attorney and agreed to a $13,134 compromise. The company owed accumulated interest and penalties of $17,300, after not paying their 2003 property taxes. ?Michigan Limestone Operations had filed bankruptcy, and they quit paying bills, but prior to filing bankruptcy they had incurred a tax obligation,? said Presque Isle County prosecutor Don McLennan, who appeared last Friday before the county board to update the group on the matter. ?Under Michigan law, the bankruptcy does not stop the obligation to pay property taxes.?

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MCLENNAN HAS been the county?s liaison during negotiations being handled by the county?s hired bankruptcy attorney, Rozanne Giunta. The base tax due to the county was $89,958, which was paid in full in February 2005. Repeated efforts by attorneys for final payment continued until the two sides recently came to a proposed agreement. ?The payoff would be for all of the accumulated interest,? said McLennan. ?In return for the payment of the accumulated interest, the county waives the penalty, or administrative fee, so the difference is about $4,000.?

Giunta said negotiations could be tied up in bankruptcy court for an indeterminate amount of time and that it would not make financial sense for the county to continue to pay attorney fees, which could have exceeded the amount of the compromise. The county commissioners agreed and approved the recommendation on a 5-0 vote.

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