- April 24, 2024
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After some debate between the Volusia County Council, Ormond Beach's ECHO Grant application was approved 5-2 at the council meeting on Tuesday, April 17, even though the city is currently challenging the county on grounds that it should not be responsible for the $135,000 in unpaid taxes for the River Bend Golf Club, a public property maintained by a private lessee.
“Shame on the lessee for not letting anybody know that it was being billed for taxes," Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes said. "We certainly didn’t know. No TRIM notices, no tax bills, no nothing was ever sent to the city — all sent to the lessee.”
Citing the Clean Hands doctrine, the Volusia County staff had originally recommended the council to deny Ormond Beach the ECHO Grant. The county maintains Ormond Beach owes the taxes, not the private lessee.
Hayes and City Manager Joyce Shanahan challenged that notion. Hayes said according to the county staff position, anytime a lessee of public property fails to pay taxes that are due, you can collect that money from the city's taxpayers.
“Should we penalize one project over a question of whether or not money is owed on another piece of property when the funds are there and likely the funds won’t be disbursed until the project is completed?"
Ed Kelley, Volusia County Council Chair
“Think about that," Hayes said. "It’s insulting. It’s repugnant. It’s just plain wrong.”
The city, which will match the $400,000 grant with $550,000 for new LED lighting in one ball field and three soccer fields in the Ormond Beach Sports Complex, contended that Clean Hands doctrine did not apply since the city was only made aware of the unpaid taxes when it applied for the ECHO Grant last fall. The River Bend Golf Club owes taxes from 2012-2017.
Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley said he was looking at it from the point of view that Ormond Beach was being denied a grant over taxes owed by a private business. He said that matter would likely be settled in court, but in the meantime, the youth of the city could benefit from the project, which earned high marks from the ECHO board.
“Should we penalize one project over a question of whether or not money is owed on another piece of property when the funds are there and likely the funds won’t be disbursed until the project is completed?" Kelley said.
He said he wasn't saying that just because he's an Ormond Beach resident.
“I think this goes back to a question of apples or oranges, bananas and pears because of the way it is," Kelley said.
He said if they didn't grant the money, and then the court settles the county staff's position is wrong, everyone loses. But, he said, if it goes to court and the county wins, the project will have gone forward, the tax issue will be resolved and "everyone wins."
