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The city of Fairborn is seeking people who may not have paid city income taxes between 2009 and 2013.
Last month, Fairborn mailed more than 4,400 administrative subpoenas to individuals who neglected to file a municipal income tax return during those years.
Fairborn has a 1.5 percent income tax rate. One percent of it goes into the general fund for operations, while a quarter percent each is dedicated to the police/fire levy and street levy.
“A fair amount of money is owed to the city, and the goal is to get it collected,” Mayor Dan Kirkpatrick said. “Other people are paying up. What’s fair for one is fair for all. We’re trying to clear the books and make sure people pay up. This is the best way to get their attention to get them to pay up.”
It is unclear how much is owed to the city, according to Randy Groves, Fairborn’s finance director.
The last subpoena program performed in 2011 for tax years 2008 and prior generated a total tax liability of approximately $300,000. There were 5,577 subpoenas mailed in 2011, Groves said.
“In a lot of cases, if they haven’t filed, we don’t know what they owe,” he said.
In some cases, individuals may not owe the city any money. They just haven’t filed, City Manager Deborah McDonnell said.
Those who were sent a subpoena were first issued a non-filing notice and given an opportunity to respond before the subpoena went out.
Groves said the subpoena program has generated a response from people to make appointments with the city. But if there’s no response, taxpayers will be required to appear in municipal court.
“We want to balance it out to make sure it’s fair to everyone,” McDonnell said. “There is some reality that there are people that live here that just moved here or may not know about the city’s income tax. There’s an educational piece to the subpoena program.”
Fairborn resident Ronney Plemons said he hires a professional to take care of his taxes. With federal and state taxes also required, it can get confusing for a taxpayer, Plemons said.
“I can see where someone who’s not paying real close attention to things could forget,” Plemons said. “(But) if you’re the beneficiary of the service, then you should take care of it. So yes, I think (the subpoena program) is good.”
Staff writer Natalie Jovonovich contributed to this story.
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