The Never-Ending Drama Over Terry Ramey's Property Taxes

 The Continuing Saga of Commissioner Terry Ramey

What exactly is it about Board of Commissioner Terry Ramey, who is running for reelection, that has both the Mountaineer and The Smoky Mountain News outlets so obsessed with him and his property tax records?

Earlier this month, The Smoky Mountain News published an article by Cory Vaillancourt, a far-left socialist who routinely distorts facts in his political reporting, attempting to assassinate Commissioner Ramey’s reelection bid by reporting on a tax issue that was resolved several years ago.  

Not to be outdone by The Smoky Mountain News, on January 26^th, the Mountaineer News jumped in with its own hit piece, written by Sarah White, on the identical Terry Ramey unpaid tax issue. For the record, Ramey’s past tax issues have been resolved, and he is considered “in good standing,” as verified by Haywood County tax records.

But with such earth-shattering “Breaking News,” is it any wonder that both propaganda arms of the Socialist-Democrat Party wouldn’t find it necessary to rehash their own version of the Ramey Tax Saga just weeks before the Primary Elections?

Either both newspapers have little exciting news to report, or they fear the reelection of a true Christian conservative Republican to the Board. Also in question is the role the current Chairman of the Board, Kevin Ensley, played in getting those negative hit articles written and published just weeks before the primary elections, due to his known dislike of Terry Ramey.

Tiffany Collins For County Commissioner

Of the six candidates running, only Terry Ramey and Tiffany Collins have demonstrated strong Christian conservatism with the strength and conviction to pose a threat to Chairman Ensley’s total control of all decisions made by the Board. The other four candidates running are: Tommy Long, a committed Ensley “yes” man; Howard Knepper, whose background is dubious; David Burnette; and Jeff Stein. All four, in my opinion, are RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), whom Ensley supports over Ramey and Collins because he understands that those four will quickly and without question fall in line with his authority and dictates.

Terry Ramey for County Commissioner

When Ramey was first elected, he owed about $2,100 in unpaid property taxes, which he quickly paid off within a year through a payment plan. In a statement to the Mountaineer, Chairman Ensley stated that: “If you owe something, you ought to pay it.” Ensley went on to state that: “You hear about some of these people, they’re anti-tax and all this, and you think it’s a vast majority, but really it’s not. Taxes pay for so many things that we depend on. We might not like paying them, but we do pay them.”

Board of Commissioners Chairman, Kevin Ensley

How ironic, given that Chairman Ensley is utilizing a county tax code loophole that allows him to indefinitely defer paying a portion of taxes he owes, which, technically, makes him in arrears with his county taxes. That loophole allows him to defer payment indefinitely until the period during which they can be collected has run out. Very hypocritical and inappropriate for an individual serving as the Chairman of our county’s Board of Commissioners. Keep in mind that it was Chairman Ensley who was quoted in the Mountaineer as having stated that: “If you owe something, you ought to pay it.” 

Andrew Ferguson for County Tax Collector

Emily Sapp for County Tax Collector

And then we have Republican candidate for Tax Collector, Andrew Ferguson, running against Republican Emily Sapp. Ferguson has conveniently jumped into the controversy for his own political gain by trashing his fellow Republican, Terry Ramey, whom he is not running against. However, it seems to me that he is using Emily Sapp’s support of Ramey as an opportunity to, by implication, put into question Emily’s credibility as our next “Tax Collector.”

Greg West was the Tax Collector when Ramey took office and set up that payment plan. West has stated that Ramey completed the payment plan without missing a payment.

So enough already about Ramey and his non-existent unpaid property taxes.

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