Who is in charge of the Madison County government?
Corruption in local government refers to the misuse of public office and resources by individuals in positions of power at the local level for personal gain or the benefit of select groups. It involves the abuse of entrusted authority, bribery, embezzlement, fraud, nepotism, and other illicit activities that undermine the integrity and effectiveness of local governance.
And here we are…
Everything is going wrong in Madison County because county officials have hired unqualified individuals to run our government. They choose the worst people because they are usable and lack the necessary skill set to do their jobs. These commissioners and the County manager can manipulate them to do things a normal person would not consider. I am not saying the county commissioners or the county manager are smart; they are backward and inept, and to look good, they lie and pretend they know what they are doing.
As long as the County Government keeps committing malfeasance and breaking NC law, I will keep writing about it…
What we are covering below and how you should handle your interview with Tyler Technologies and BOE.
- 2024 Botched Madison County Tax Reevaluation
- County employees involved in malfeasance
- Who pushed Tyler Technologies- The tape
- The connection between Tyler Technologies and Sheriff Buddy Harwood
- The name behind Record Requests in Madison County Government and the violation of State laws
This county is in shambles because of its hiring practices. Norton takes off before the Madison County 2024 assessment deadline.
Tyler Technologies can’t answer the questions in the appeals process, and Norton’s office can’t produce comps or the names of the assessors. This is a line in the sand. This manufactured boondoggle, the 2024 Madison County Reevaluation, will forever change your county.
See below. Diana Norton Madison Tax Assessor takes off before the 2024 Tax Assessment Deadline. deadline July-28-2024
Why did Norton leave before the last business day and the deadline of Sunday, July 28, 2024?
How can you possibly have an effective uniform Countywide assessment when you have not by law valued the Present-use program, AKA – Agriculture Welfare?
Present-use value is “Value in Use,” a method for determining the value of land used for the commercial growing of Agricultural and/or Horticultural crops and commercial forest products. It is based solely on the capitalization of ground rents for those purposes. It applies only to parcels approved for the Present-Use Value Program that meet all other program requirements of ownership, size, income, and sound management.
Sound management under NC law is impossible without a full audit of these properties. There is also potential tax fraud on a state and federal level. Uncovered on the Madison County agricultural welfare—PUV were several dead people and individuals who were showing up who had sold their properties and were no longer on the tax rolls. What happened?
These PUV properties, also known as agricultural Welfare, encompass over 17 percent of the 19,278 properties in this county being assessed.
More than one of every six properties is on this Agricultural Welfare, which has never been audited. You should be mad as hell that your county operates like this. Why do you think your taxes are going up and theirs are not?
What do you get for what you pay in taxes?
NOTHING the freeloaders get it all…
Over half a billion dollars of write-offs have morphed into a chronic Welfare system for people who don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes.
The burden then shifts to those who choose not to exploit an abused system. Not auditing these properties is a criminal act, and there is no excuse, especially when these condescending commissioners violated the public trust by not doing their due diligence in hiring a competent company to do this 2024 Reassessment.
Diana Norton has NEVER audited this program. Madison County has never audited this program. Why does Madison County Government believe they don’t have to follow the law like the other 99 counties in NC?
Is this something Donny Laws, the county attorney, has advised them on? Violating NCGS statutes is criminal, Correct?
By her admission below, Norton doesn’t even know how to audit this program. Remember, I gave her a chance to clarify, and she did not respond. Now, this department and the Madison County government are in full cover-up.
To audit all 3,300 properties currently and according to NC legal statutes, Norton would have to do at least 13 daily, which is impossible!
The tax office would have to do one a day for a year to do the required 8 percent. You can’t do these audits on your computer in your office. You must get educated, get your lazy hind-end up, and travel to the property. The statute requires this. You should begin with all these county employees and county board members.
Maybe Jeremy Hensley will take the lead and call for this, starting with himself…
I requested the contract with Tyler Technologies from Kary Ledford, County Financial Director. After four attempts, she sent me a partial contract:
What is missing from Ledford? Why are they hiding everything if they are indeed being honest?
Because folks they are not honest or ethical…
- Tyler’s Proposal Exhibit-(D) as referenced in: Section B-1.services
- Clients RFP Exhibit (C) as referenced in: Section B-1.Services
Those two exhibits above were purposefully omitted from Ledford’s public record request. They are pivotal in determining what Tyler was contracted to do.
There is a reason this employee doesn’t have a CPA degree, and the Madison County government does not require it. To be a CPA, you have an ethics clause in your license. Kary Ledford has no ethics, so she can calculate funny money expenditures and amendments in Madison County budgeting.
A licensed CPA would never do that; maybe that is why the last and only CPA left Madison County. Think about it, folks; plenty went on in Marshall when Ledford and Darlyne Rhinehart worked for the town.
Now, Ledford is getting paid well over what she is worth in a salary of over $70,000, and on top of that, she is one of the 17% on Agricultural welfare. Her taxes are going down 250.00 dollars. Are yours?
Why is Kary Ledford’s total taxable value not lining up see below?
Why is Kary Ledford’s building value being lowered? Building values can not be deferred.
Who is the gal in charge of Record Requests in Madison County?
Why, none other than Mandy Bradley, the unqualified clerk whose salary has doubled in three years? Bradley is behind the illegal Public Record Request policy. She is also not on Madison County tax rolls.
Do you understand why having qualified people in County Government is critical?
If your property assessments have climbed to the point that you may not be able to afford to live here anymore and your blood is boiling, before you watch the video below, take your blood pressure medicine—you will need it!
Below are the July 12-2022 minutes, then the video…
Boots on the Ground, the only boot is in Donny Law’s mouth!
Donny Laws claims in the video above that taxpayers are thanking him for allowing their properties to be foreclosed on, is no different then French Broad EMC claiming that residents were notifying them that they were happy they were getting their properties damaged and poisoned because it helps keep their lights on! This is gaslighting on steroids; don’t fall for this BS!
Let’s pick this apart, folks; piece by piece, Laws’s opinion about deficiencies in Pearson Appraisals or any company is laughable.
Laws maliciously attacked this company in this video.
We have used them before. Could this be why Madison County and possibly Diana Norton threatened Keith Ray?
Don’t forget, according to this meeting, Donny was googling Tyler and what a good job they did for Yancey.
According to Laws, they were going to add Boots on the Ground. If boots were on the ground, why are these appraisals of land classifications and market factors so unjustly assessed throughout the county?
Why are some of these lots in Madison County assessed at over 700 percent higher value? In contrast, lots in the largest subdivision in Madison- Seven Glens, where Chairman Matt Wechtel lives, are classified as Rural Vacant.
Why is Ernie Ramsey, a board member of the Board of Adjustment property on Highway 213, who has a cell tower and a gas tank rental business, undervalued because Diana Norton reclassified his Agricultural Welfare into a new LLC. Why are other Cell Phone tower properties in Madison County being assessed much higher?
Folks, the great company Tyler Technologies cannot answer these questions. Are you catching on?
Look below who Laws also works for; is this why he was overly pushing Tyler?
Why would our county want to follow and be like Yancey County?
It is deliverance over there! Send Donny Laws back to Yancey County and hire a competent, educated County Attorney who will do what is right for the people of Madison County, not what is right for him.
North Carolina man charged with 9 felonies after shooting at tree crew (newsbreak.com)
Remember, Donny’s incompetence caused Madison County taxpayers to be sued by French Broad Asphalt because he was deficient in the practice of law. Donny Laws is the one who is deficient in his business, not Pearson.
Laws allowed the Board of Adjustment to deliberate in the open while 300 people from Marshall who were against the asphalt permit stood watch. Donny Laws even took selfies at bars with the Board of Adjustment members after they denied the Reeds their permit. Laws and Forrest Gilliam never thought the Reeds would sue.
In Law’s answer to the lawsuit, he wrote a book instead of simple answers, which a more competent attorney would have submitted. Madison had to hire Roberts and Stevens-(more $$$ for taxpayers) because ole Donny couldn’t cut the bacon. Laws charged the taxpayers over $200,000 for his legal deficiencies. He should be fired, not relied on to give legal advice to these five meatheads, who never got off their lazy rear ends and researched this company.
Listen to him. He sure pimps Tyler. Doesn’t he talk about what a good company they are, but are they? Pearson Appraisals doesn’t have 42,515 legal case filings, does it?
But Tyler Technologies does. Run their name in this search- Results – judyrecords– 42,515 cases.
Is an Attorney General and State Auditor from any other state suing Pearson for their malfeasance in rolling out a Property tax Reevaluation?
This meeting was full of issues. Michael Garrison- “Point of Reference” lied about the NCDOR issuing a MANDATE and claimed they had to do this revaluation.
It was pure bunk out of the mouth of a man who lies for sport.
It was a memo; anyone can look this up themselves; you can even call around to honest counties in NC to confirm. A mandate would require NC legislative action…
I took this from the Granville, NC website: The North Carolina Department of Revenue urged Granville County to take immediate action and complete a revaluation as soon as possible. Waiting an additional two years would likely have led to even more dramatic increases in tax value.
Hey Garrison, if you are going to embellish the facts of what was actually in the memo, I might add that the NCDOR urges commissioners not to sit on the Board of Equalization.
This conflict of interest gives us leverage when we appeal to the tax commission against these commissioners and Madison County.
Don’t forget that all the dirty laundry in Madison will come out concerning how they had a conflict of interest when dealing with these Ridge ordinance properties and how Alan Wyatt, county commissioner, told the planning board how to vote.
Garrison even admitted this by calling it a mulligan in his remarks about the Ridge Ordinance in a Johnny Casey article.
- POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD
A. Personnel - In 37 of the 100 North Carolina counties, the members of the board of county commissioners
sit as the Board of Equalization and Review. In these counties, the members are sitting to
fulfill legal responsibilities separate and apart from their roles as county commissioners. As
such, they must be mindful of not allowing their actions on the Board of Equalization and
Review to be influenced by their interests as commissioners. The Department of Revenue
recommends counties create special Boards of Equalization and Review. This allows the
county commissioners to focus on the normal business of the county. The Board of
Equalization and Review can concentrate solely on dealing with the issues involving property
taxation.
By the way, why hasn’t the Monica Toole property not been appraised properly? Remember her, one of the Ridge rappers embroiled in the outcry of eliminating the Ridge ordinance. She is supposedly Anthony Willis’s girlfriend. Willis built this house and works with Commissioner Alan Wyatt in business ventures.
The same Wyatt violated NC Law by contacting the planning board members and telling them how they had to vote- the “Garrison Mulligan”…
Does this house above look like it should be taxed? She is living in it. Norton has not picked it up and taxed it!
While we are on the Ridge Rapers of Madison County…
I wonder why property card information is unavailable when you click on the parcels that Blevins purchased in the Mountain Park subdivision.
PINS:
- 9748578042
- 9748594512
- 9748794880
- 9748990461
- 9748984609
- 9748963262
- 9748951468
- 9748961897
That’s just some of the PINS.
Why aren’t the Register of Deeds and the Madison County Tax Office coordinating these properties?
Every person who appears before the Board of Equalization because of the Tax Department and Madison County’s failures should state from the beginning their disagreement that the Board of Equalization is comprised of Republican commissioners.
Diana Norton, above in this video, shows up at a county meeting as the director of the Madison County Tax office, dressed as a Sumo Wrestler. Dress too tight, with no hosiery, flip flops, and black toenails. You can’t make this stuff up anymore, folks.
Diana Arrowood Norton pushed the county to do the Full Measure boots-on-the-ground reevaluation. She is the same woman who pushed to have her and Donny Law’s duties farmed out to another company, Kanya, for collection services.
Folks, this tax office’s collection rate is 96.7. It should be 99.3 at a minimum. Weaverville is 99.3. It looks like “Kanya” was another miscue by this Tax administrator.
The taxpayers are supposed to trust this woman. By dressing and acting this way and lying to the public, she disrespects the county and its residents.
You need someone in this position who inspires professionalism and confidence.
Why would anyone rely on Norton’s expertise to pick a company to reevaluate our tax values? Remember, she doesn’t even own property in Madison County. Donny Laws and Norton looked like a tag team with their attacks on Pearson and fondling of Tyler.
She knew the name was Tyler, not Phyler, as she told me four times and even spelled it in a taped interview.
Norton claims in the above video that she checked on this company. Diana, how did you miss this?
This lawsuit was filed a month before this Tax meeting, and Tyler Technologies was suing one of the largest counties in SC that had used them in reappraisals.
Read the problems that arised with Tyler and Lexington county in SC. This was settled, and Lexington County did not back down to Tyler. Both sides settled “without prejudice,” so Tyler didn’t get paid.
Below in 2021 a year before this meeting…
2021 An absolute debacle: As lawyers say county software issues still persist, Tyler Technologies defends product
by: Ryan Chandler– December 3, 2021
LUBBOCK, Texas — Four months after Lubbock County switched its court records software provider to Tyler Technologies, lawyers say technical problems are still delaying their cases and attempts to work with county leadership to resolve the issues have been unsuccessful.
“The rollout of this Tyler system has been an absolute debacle,” Lubbock trial attorney Ben Garcia said. “Whenever a person is charged with a crime… they have a right to see the evidence that the state has. That’s what we call discovery. Since the switch has been made to Tyler, we don’t have access to the discovery in the online portal. In fact, in a majority of my cases, I don’t have discovery, period.”
Garcia led a presentation on the issues in front of the county Commissioner’s Court in late October. He says little progress has been made since then. Tyler Technologies explained the issues do not stem from its software, but from difficulties in converting tens of millions of documents into a new system. Tyler describes the software as “the window into the data,” and that issues of inaccessibility to that data lie in the data itself. Tyler maintains the county’s decision to temporarily close down the portal was made independently, and its software worked as the county intended. In truth of where roles and responsibilities lie in this instance, the county had control,” Tyler Technologies Courts and Justice Division representative Rusty Smith said. “If it was a defect with the software itself, then that would be Tyler’s responsibility… in this instance, it was not a defect. It was performing as designed. It was the underlying data that had been transferred from the old system that needed additional changes to it… they were very much in control… We were available to assist them, but they were running with the ball.”
This search below took approximately 10 minutes to retrieve on Google:
Dallas County Criminal Case Management Adoption Continues to Have Failures (govtech.com)
What Happened With Tyler Technologies – judyrecords
Results – judyrecords– (42,515 cases)- Run Tyler Technologies
A $100 Million Mess of Court Records – The Assembly NC
Lubbock County Not Only One With Tyler Technologies Software Issues | KTTZ
Tyler Technologies Security Incident | North Carolina Judicial Branch (nccourts.gov)
Jackson County, NC didn’t even want Tyler:
If Donny Laws is such a great attorney, why didn’t he catch these or make them available to the commissioners? Why didn’t the Great Garrison look them up? These commissioners play on their phones during these meetings, so why not Google the name?
Garrison does know how to use PACER, right?
Look at this: a Buddy Harwood employee boom now works for Tyler Technologies.
What kept Norton from reaching out to NC appraisal companies approved by NCDOR to place a bid during the RFP period?
Nothing kept her from reaching out to other companies. She and Donnie Laws wanted this company; it is obvious, and the question is, Why? Were the five commissioners involved in this charade?
Don’t you feel there needs to be an investigation into this operation? We know Tyler Technologies did not provide a Full Measure—Boots on the Ground Revaluation for the taxpayers of Madison County. Donny and Diana are not going to be paying this bill. We are.
Amazingly, she puts so much effort into pumping this company, yet she puts no effort into following the law and auditing Agricultural Welfare in this county.
But what do you expect from someone who threatens when confronted with blatant violations in her tax department?
This is what she did to me when I questioned her. She told me, and I quote: “I can tax you for all your cabins on your property with personal tax.” So, Diana Norton says she can tax you arbitrarily to retaliate against you for questioning and writing about her and her department.
Is she going to lie about this, too?
My cabins are not being rented and have not been rented. I told Diana point blank that if she tried to bully or discriminate against me in this county, I would sue her and Madison. This conversation is documented, but it does not stop with me.
Norton violated a taxpayer’s rights during the last Board of Equalization meetings in 2020. I know because she told me. This was an election year, and I wrote about the school board candidates. Barbara Wyatt is on Agricultural Welfare and was applying for an appeal on her property.
This is PRR, and I watched for her hearing and have made no bones about County officials on this program not paying their fair share and asking the rest of us to pay more for their pet projects.
Listen closely, folks. This is what transpired. I called Diana’s office and asked if there had been a decision on Barbara Wyatt’s property. She answered, “No, she is scheduled for this afternoon but will not get it.”
I knew this didn’t sound right, but I never followed up by reading the statute. I was very busy, and I apologize because Barabara Wyatt was treated unfairly and illegally in this process.
Barbara Wyatt had the right to be heard, even though I didn’t agree with her land use, just like anyone who comes before any court. This is treated as quasi-judicial.
This is how all appealers should deal with Tyler Technologies and Madison County Board of Equalizations: Argue value reductions—comps first and the Market Value factor at the end. They can’t defend the Market Value factor, and they are not providing any comps, which speaks volumes about what has happened here.
Madison County Board of Commissioners and County government have failed its citizens. We have no choice. Even though the women running on the Democratic ticket are flawed, we have to vote for them to get rid of these two monsters—Michael Garrison and Matt Wechtel—who have harmed this county’s residents and profited themselves and their friends.
I have turned everything I have uncovered in this county over to State Authorities. I am preparing a lawsuit against Madison County for failure to provide Public record requests under NC GS.
Others are joining; it is not something anyone wants to do, but it is necessary to stop this blatant disregard of the public’s right to access government records. Madison County has violated the public trust of its citizens.
We are at a crossroads in our county; we have to pick the right lane and travel on this road before it is too late- CH