From the MJ.....

Council member owes city tax money

A.J. Smith says not filing income taxes was a mistake he will rectify.

By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer Updated 11:08 PM Tuesday, October 18, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — City Councilman A.J. Smith must go to court to answer an allegation accusing him of not paying his income taxes for the last two years.

He was notified Tuesday of his summons to Middletown Municipal Court, which was filed Monday. No court date was set.

The affidavit, according to Clerk of Courts Steven Longworth, alleges Smith “unlawfully did fail, neglect or refuse to make any return or declaration required by this chapter for the years 2009 and 2010.” 

Aside from working for the city, Smith is a 22-year-old self-employed political consultant. As a council member he earns $5,000 per year. The city’s income tax rate of 1.75 percent, or $87.50, has already been collected by the city stemming from that job.

“We have the same process for everybody, including council people,” city finance Director Russ Carolus said. “If people fail to file their income taxes, eventually we get to the point where we are forced to take them to court in an effort to get them to file.”

To rectify the situation, Smith would have to file his paperwork with the income tax division and obtain a certificate to present to the court signifying his compliance.

Smith said that when filing his federal and state taxes with H&R Block, he was under the impression it would cover local income taxes as well.

“Apparently that’s not the case,” he said. “I just need to rectify it.”

Smith said he does not believe he was misguided by H&R Block.

Through 2009, Smith said his parents assisted him in filing his income taxes. In 2010, Smith said he attempted to file taxes himself for the first time.

Carolus said Smith was sent “several” notifications alerting him of a looming deadline. But Smith, who has lived at four different locations in the last year, said those alerts may have “gotten lost in the shuffle.” He said he first saw a notification about three weeks ago.

According to Carolus, the city has prepared paperwork on 384 accounts for failure to file income taxes with the city through September of this year.

Smith was elected to represent the city’s Second Ward in 2009 and has since made headlines for actions away from City Hall.

Police were dispatched to a residence at 907 Sixth Ave. owned by Smith after a Duke Energy employee claimed Smith confronted him with a handgun when he was shutting off electric service. No charges were filed.

In January, police were called to Applebee’s on Towne Boulevard after a server confronted Smith about allegedly not paying for a $2.50 bottle of Heineken. No charges were filed. Smith termed the incident a misunderstanding. Former economic development director Mike Robinette, who was with Smith, paid for the beer.

In July 2010, police were called on a report of a disturbance at a home in the 2000 block of Aaron Drive involving Smith, his sister and two other women. Police said Smith insisted all four be summoned to Municipal Court, where disorderly conduct charges against all four were dismissed.

The Ohio Elections Commission in August fined Smith for improperly filing campaign finance reports with the Butler County Board of Elections from his 2009 campaign.

Smith said he does not have a growing concern for his image.

“No, not at all,” he said. “Like I said, it was a mistake on my part. I was under the impression when I filed my federal and state taxes, my local taxes would be filed. I think a lot of people believe that.

“I’ve been on city council now 22 months. I’ve done my very best,” he noted. “My obligation to my constituents is to pass legislation and support our executive branch of government and any economic or community driver that we use. I’ve done just that.”