Funding found for 80 portable toilets and two school security officers

Following an inquiry by County Council President Nancy Floreen into property taxes that had been unpaid for several years, sufficient funding to cover the cost of 80 portable toilets and two school security officers has been located.

Deerwood International Ltd, a foreign corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands that owns valuable real estate in Potomac, had developed a practice of not paying their real estate property taxes. By law, unpaid property taxes are supposed to be collected each year through a tax lien sale process. But for unknown reasons, Deerwood had escaped the tax lien sale process, and had accrued $162,605.88 of unpaid taxes and interest dating back to 2006 and 2007.  An additional $67,169.90 in 2009 taxes and interest also remained unpaid as of the 2009 tax lien sale date.

In total, Deerwood owed the county $225,681.19 in taxes, interest and fees as of June 2010.

As a result of the tax lien sale a few weeks ago, Montgomery County government finally collected the unpaid taxes.  A third-party paid the taxes, and now Deerwood must reimburse the third-party for the amount of the taxes, plus interest, or Deerwood will lose ownership of their property. 

Deerwood International is not the only company that didn't pay their property taxes for several years and that wasn't pursued by the county for nonpayment (until now).  Millions of dollars of delinquent taxes from several years back for many other properties are also finally being collected this year.

As for whether the "found" money will go toward portable toilets, school security officers, or some other expense, that's up to the County Council.