VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A tax watchdog group is criticizing Volusia County for its annual budget. The budget includes a grant for thousands of taxpayer dollars that will be given to a theater company that owes back property taxes.
WFTV's Blaine Tolison found out county officials didn't know about it.
The Volusia County annual budget will be finalized in just a few weeks. But Volusia tax reform is speaking out against taxpayer money awarded to the Sands Theatre in DeLand because the theater hasn't paid its taxes.
"They still owe two years of back taxes and yet our county council is giving them over $40,000 of our taxpayer dollars in grant money," said Margie Patchett, of Volusia Tax Reform.
WFTV confirmed with the county property appraiser the theatre owes exactly $12,888 in property taxes.
County documents show the cultural council of Volusia County awarded $42,000 to the Sands Theatre Center last week.
That's something Patchett said should have never happened.
"It should have been a condition that the Sands Theatre pay the county the back taxes plus the interest and penalties before receiving new grant money," she said.
The Sands Theatre is also the Athens Theatre. It's in downtown DeLand across the street from the county administration building and property appraiser's office.
Even though it's right across the street, officials said the county didn't know about the back taxes.
"It just shows how backwards, how incompetent our government is running," said Patchett.
County officials did not respond to WFTV's request for an interview, but explained over the phone that the cultural council typically deals with not for profit groups, which are exempt from property taxes; so it doesn't check those tax records.
The Sands Theatre used to be a nonprofit, but lost its nonprofit status last year for partnering with for-profit companies.
Volusia County officials said the theater plans to pay off its back property taxes. The county council will vote on the final budget Oct. 1.