Members of the Gingellville Community Center will soon have some answers from Orion Township, although they probably won’t be the ones they wanted.
Due to the confusion surrounding the tax-exempt status of the GCC, and to better understand the tax exempt process in general, the township board has assigned assessor John Attwell the task of creating a document that will explain the traits of an exempt organization.
For GCC director Pam Hutchinson, and other GCC members present at the May 15 board meeting, this action was too little, too late to help keep their center open past the calendar year.
‘I was extremely disappointed,? Hutchinson said after the meeting. ‘I was hoping that a few on this board were going to get a little courage.?
The GCC membership has held discussions about selling their building to pay off the taxes they owe, but were hoping that an action by the board might make staying open a more realistic possibility.
The issue was brought to the board’s attention by Clerk Jill Bastian, who said having a report could be beneficial for all groups whose tax status is similar to the GCC’s.
‘What I want to find out is, are there options?? Bastian said. ‘Can things be done differently for this particular group??
Trustee John Steimel said he was weary of the motion brought by Bastian, because of language within that addressed researching ‘the procedures to be followed by the Board of Review.?
Steimel and Attwell both said that influencing the Board of Review is not a job for the board or assessor.
‘That’s not something I want to tread on,? Steimel said.
Trustee Mike Gingell was the one who then proposed the motion to have Attwell create an explanatory document, which passed unanimously.
‘There’s a lot of confusion in the community because of the GCC about what is a tax-exempt organization,? he said.
In particular, Gingell noted confusion about how exemption of federal income tax relates to exemption of state property tax.
As a 501(c)3 organization, the GCC is exempt from federal taxes, but the Michigan Tax Tribunal agreed with the Board of Review, and said they are not exempt from state taxes.
‘I don’t have to prove (assessment), they have to prove exemption,? Attwell said, but noted that he was willing to create the explanatory document.
Gingell said the motion was just about ‘trying to understand what’s acceptable? for tax-exempt status.
The motion called for board members to be given 10 days to pass their comments on to Attwell for inclusion in his document.
He will report back to the board at their June 19 meeting.