An anonymous payment recently applied to decades-old tax bills owed by a sitting Haywood County commissioner presents the appearance of impropriety and may violate campaign finance law and the Board of Commissioners’ ethics policy.
Substantial questions about the payment remain, but at least one thing is certain — the long drama surrounding Commissioner Terry Ramey’s unpaid taxes is not settled.
“The $2,000 payment is clearly a gift that benefits Ramey. For his own good as a public official, I’d suggest that he direct the tax office to send the anonymous payment to the county’s general fund and remove any application of the $2,000 toward his personal tax liability,” said Bob Hall, former executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan voting-rights organization. “Otherwise, the public could wonder if the donor might someday privately approach Ramey and want a returned favor for the gift. That’s not a good situation to be in — for him or for the public.”…