Memo to political candidates: It's a good idea to make sure your property taxes are paid when you're running for a tax supported job.
Five candidates in this year's Minneapolis city elections missed their payment deadlines, including both North Side candidates for the area's Park Board seat.
Incumbent Jon Olson gives financial hardship as the reason that he's not made a property tax payment since the first half of 2011. He operates a Dairy Queen in the Lind-Bohanon neighborhood. He said the recession and the loss of North Side residents who lost their homes have cut into sales.
"People don't have the money to spend," said Olson, who said he's optimistic that business is rebounding.
He also said he took a hit financially from missing work for six months due to severe facial and hand injuries that caused him to have to pay someone else to run the business. He was slashed by an assailant with a box cutter when he intervened to protect one of his employees from the intoxicated man who had attacked her outside a bar.
Olson's challenger, David Luce, had simple forgetfulness to blame for not paying his second-half property tax on time. When a reporter called Thursday, he reached into a cupboard when bills are kept and found that the deadline was Oct. 15.
"It's not like we don't have the money," Luce said. Thanks. I'll go pay it."
Ninth Ward City Council candidate Ty Moore said he forgot to pay his second-half tax bill amidst the pressures of his campaign. "I've always paid my taxes consistently," he said. "I'll be paying those online today."
