Lebanon
Sandy and Mark Horne sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 11, days before Lebanon officials were expected to begin claiming the deeds to 20 Payne Road, 22 Tracy St., 56-58 Main St. and 249 Meriden Road.
The Hornes own six properties in Lebanon, including a Miracle Mile building that houses an auto parts store, according to assessing records. Since 2012, city records show, the owners have fallen behind on taxes on four of the properties.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Hornes accumulated roughly $61,000 in delinquent taxes, according to Lebanon Tax Collector Susan McBain.
With penalties and fees, the two currently owe more than $135,000, McBain said in an interview last month.
The unpaid taxes led the City Council to vote in July to take the properties — which are apartment buildings — in the hopes they could be sold and once again generate tax revenue.
In a recent email to a reporter, Sandy Horne said the couple was “forced” to file for bankruptcy because of the city’s plans to seize the properties, “despite my best efforts to pay them.”
Horne said she paid $55,400 to Lebanon last year and another $37,900 so far this year.
“But at 18 percent interest,” she said, “it’s hard to make any progress.”
Under state law, if a property owner cannot pay off delinquent tax bills within a certain timeframe, the tax collector is required to take the property, unless ordered not to by either a selectboard or city council.
“We got behind during the time we were paying for the care of my parents. My dad died in 2010 and my mom died in 2015,” Horne wrote in the email. “The properties, along with tax debts, transferred to me after their passing.”
Mark and Sandy Horne live in Plainfield Village, where they operate a storage facility. The couple previously owned Rivers Edge Stables, a horse farm located along Route 12A.
The Hornes own four properties in Plainfield, and one — the former Rivers Edge Site — has a town lien against for unpaid taxes, according to Plainfield Tax Collector Michelle Marsh, who said the two currently owe $25,314.
The couple also owes about $682,000 in mortgage payments, according to bankruptcy filings.
Mark Horne’s business, Door to Door Driving Services LLC, likely will not be affected by the bankruptcy, Sandy Horne said in an email.
Mark Horne is the primary witness in an ongoing murder-for-hire case in Plainfield, where an 83-year-old woman is alleged to have hired conspired with her 63-year-old son to have his ex-wife killed.
Horne was a police informant in the case and surreptitiously recorded conversations with the suspects.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows debtors to reorganize and liquidate under a plan approved by a bankruptcy court, and filing imposes an automatic stay against most collection activities, including tax liens.
Horne said she hopes the court action will allow her to sell two of the four properties to pay back the debt owed to Lebanon.
Horne declined to say which properties she intends to sell, and referred question to her lawyer, Michael Fisher of the Hanover-based Fisher Law Offices, PLLC.
According to online real estate listings, the apartment building at 22 Tracy St. is for sale, with an asking price of $285,000. There’s also an active listing for 56-58 Main St., with an asking price of $260,000.
City officials initially recommended against seizing the Horne’s Lebanon properties in July, according to meeting minutes, saying the two parties were working through a payment plan.
But city councilors expressed concern that little progress was made since the issue last came before them in 2016, according to City Councilor Bruce Bronner.
“My question was ‘Has any ground been made up?’ and the answer I received was ‘no,’ ” he said in a recent interview. “I could see no reason why these properties should be protected.”
Bronner said the city itself shouldn’t aim to become property managers. However, it could hire a company to take over care of the buildings and help residents until the properties could be sold.
Then, they would go back onto the tax rolls under new ownership.
“Until the bankruptcy is resolved, I suppose then we’re stuck footing the bill again,” he said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.