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“It’s not clear what the remedy would be if a county were intentionally failing to advertise certain taxpayers. “I have not heard any allegations of counties intentionally refusing to advertise certain taxpayers who are not involved with bankruptcies or appeals,” he said. McLaughlin said the only names that should be omitted are those in bankruptcy or with a property under appeal. No one with the county has said publicly who asked the names to be removed, and who was complicit in that happening. The county has not denied the omission of the names, and The Robesonian has been told by multiple sources that names have been omitted in the past. They have been paid since the story was published.

Last week The Robesonian published a story that the taxes had not been paid on a piece of property co-owned by Raymond Cummings, the chairman of the Board of Commissioners. Those taxes had still not been paid as of Wednesday. Both are late on taxes dating back to 2013. After that happened, The Robesonian learned that the names of Rex Oxendine, brother of Commissioner Roger Oxendine, and Timothy Herndon, father of Commissioner Lance Herndon, had been omitted.

The Robesonian published the notices in 20, but not this year, again following news coverage and editorial pieces critical of the commissioners, this time for their aborted attempt to buy Angel Exchange.Ĭounty Manager Ricky Harris said it was his decision to put the notices in the Robeson Journal, a weekly newspaper that claims a paid circulation of fewer than 200 and does not have an active website. The Robesonian has traditionally published the notices, but they were taken away from the newspaper in 2013, 20 after the newspaper began aggressive coverage of the county commissioners’ pay and benefits, which combined are the best in the state. LUMBERTON - A legal expert with the North Carolina School of Government says Robeson County violated a state statue when notices of delinquent taxes were published after the names of two immediate relatives of county commissioners were purposely deleted.īut Chris McLaughlin, an associate professor of Public Law and Government, is uncertain of the potential remedy, though he floated the possibility of a lawsuit, perhaps from a local citizens group.