"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
Michael Corleone in The Godfather Series
By: Rich Bergeron
Christopher Boldt is the Town Counsel for Center Harbor, New Hampshire. The state's Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) recently decided to completely contradict Boldt's professional advice to members of the Board of Selectmen in Center Harbor. The Board is now holding a hearing on January 6th, 2023 to see what Center Harbor officials have to say to justify taking Boldt's questionable advice and failing to adequately police what appear to be multiple erroneous tax exemptions given to the Legionaries of Christ.
Much like what happened with the ethics rules in the Dripping Springs, Texas debacle we described in our earliest articles here, the town Boldt now advises may have to rewrite the rules for how they monitor all tax exemptions in town moving forward.
Boldt, ever the obnoxious thespian in life and the theater, weasels his way right into the spotlight here on our site once again. Just when he thought he was out, we've had to pull him back in.
Attorney Boldt's advice potentially being wrong about not being able to collect back taxes from Legionaries of Christ properties in town granted unauthorized exemptions is not the big picture part of the story, though. More important to consider here is the fact that I warned selectmen before and after my appearance before them this past August that Christopher Boldt had a history of representing the Catholic Church in local legal matters. This is a clear conflict of interest, considering the Catholic Church has a major presence on these properties and at one point actually had to take over the entire Legionaries of Christ sect. Selectmen apparently listened to Boldt's advice on the subject anyway and referenced their reliance on that opinion in their remarks at the hearing I spoke at.
The selectmen reported at the meeting I attended that they first caught the "clerical oversight" regarding the LOC tax exemptions in May of 2022, and they alerted their town counsel at that time, which was Christopher Boldt. My first inquiries came a couple months later on the subject, and the board moved very quickly to revoke the tax status of the LOC properties for the 2022 tax year just prior to my appearance before them.
The revoking of the exemption came so quickly, it appears the selectmen and Boldt made no discernible effort to ensure the town's formal request for proper documentation went to the correct Legionaries of Christ address. This is Legal Basics 101 territory. You have to make a better effort to serve the party you need answers from as an attorney or town official. A simple Google search would have led Boldt and the board of selectmen to the Legionaries of Christ official Web-site where the current address for their North American headquarters is clearly listed at the bottom of the main page.
There is no indication Boldt or town officials tried any other method of alerting LOC officials aside from a mailing to a PO Box in Center Harbor. They did not send mailings to any of the actual tax exempted properties themselves. There is no evidence that they made any phone calls to try to find an address that would not result in returned mail. They did not even try to visit the properties and speak to sect officials or members to my knowledge. This is despite the fact that some matters involving these properties were also often before town boards, including the selectmen.
This only makes sense if the lack of due diligence was purposeful. Otherwise, any unbiased observer would have to conclude these town officials are asleep at the wheel. So why would a town attorney steer the selectmen on this course? The most logical answer is that the quick and sloppy denial would make it easier for the Legionaries of Christ to challenge the cancellation of their tax-exempt status due to the lack of proper service of demand documents. Boldt may be suffering from a problem separating church and state when it comes to his loyalties here if he's the one ultimately responsible for these clear failures in basic research. Also, I hate to ask the obvious glaring question here, but how will the town collect those taxes due if officials can't even figure out the right address to send the bill to?
It should raise a big red flag with citizens of Center Harbor when a whole team of people running the town are doing far less homework and fact checking than one guy who runs a small Web-site like this.
The town now has new counsel representing them on their current BTLA issues. Attorney Laura Spector-Morgan of Mitchell Municipal Group, P.A. filed a troubling response on the town's behalf to an order from the BTLA filed on August 17, 2022. I am included in a footnote on the first page of that order. The glaring deficiencies in Center Harbor's treatment of the Legionaries of Christ tax exemptions led the BTLA to issue a follow up order on October 12, 2022.
Both orders from the BTLA foreshadow a very rough road ahead for the Town of Center Harbor and the Legionaries of Christ.
The first order warns of the Legionaries of Christ failing to comply with "statutory filing requirements." It also reminds town officials and legal representatives of the key statute involved: RSA 72:23-c. The first part of this legal framework simply states that such entities who seek tax exemptions should file paperwork annually to properly secure that status. The second part is more damning in the wake of the town's oversight failures:
"If any such organization or corporation shall willfully neglect or refuse to file such list upon request therefor, the selectmen may deny the exemption. If any organization, otherwise qualified to receive an exemption, shall satisfy the selectmen or assessors that they were prevented by accident, mistake or misfortune from filing an application on or before April 15, the officials may receive the application at a later date and grant an exemption thereunder for that year; but no such application shall be received or exemption granted after the local tax rate has been approved for that year."
That last line is particularly important and bears repeating: "no such application shall be received or exemption granted after the local tax rate has been approved for that year." You don't have to be a legal scholar to translate that to mean there is no legal remedy allowing the Legionaries to be entitled to keep past exemptions that were erroneously granted by the town.
If the BTLA were utilizing the services of the late, great Johnny Cochrane he might say to the Legion's accountants, "If the paperwork does not exist, the payments you must remit." Even if the Legion wanted to challenge this year's revoking of their tax-exempt status, they would need to highlight some "accident, mistake or misfortune" that impacted their ability to fill out and submit the correct forms on time. The town has yet to explain that such conditions apply or argue that the exemption should be allowed for the current year even if application paperwork comes in late.
The BTLA's two conjoined orders explain how their investigation shows town officials and Boldt are not following the right protocol at all when it comes to refusing to seek back taxes for exemptions granted in error. The BTLA even outlines how the Department of Revenue and Administration warned Center Harbor town officials in July of 2013 and October of 2018 regarding these tax exemption problems.
The second order states: "The board further understands the Town's statements to mean it has taken no action to remove the exemptions granted on the LC and Legion properties in prior tax years dating back to 2004. The board finds there is statutory authority to consider whether the town should do so at this time."
These developments made it easier for the state to "assert jurisdiction" over the town's handling of this peculiar case of official neglect. It sounds like the BTLA members are basically entering the town into a mini conservatorship to ultimately engage in a clawback of all those overdue, unpaid back taxes. I initially thought the town was only missing out on a maximum of 7 years of these payments, but it may turn out to be up to18 years if no adequate paperwork has been collected from the Legion since 2004.
"The board has scheduled a hearing for the Town to show cause why the exemptions previously granted to LC and Legion should not be revoked and the 2022 applications should not be denied," the October 12th order explains. "To the extent the Town intends to correct the systemic flaws it has admitted to, the Town should examine and revise its procedures for processing of institutional exemption applications on an annual basis."
The BTLA also had to remind the town officials that it is not their duty to seek out paperwork from potentially qualifying exemptees every tax year. It is the entities asking for those tax breaks who must show all the effort and attention to detail in this scenario. The town is not an employee of the Legion, and town officials have no authority to take on the role of financial advisor or accountant for the religious sect. They owe the Legion no favors or extra consideration just because it is connected to the Catholic Church. Yet, the Legion seems to be getting all the special treatment Christopher Boldt and town officials can muster under the circumstances.
The BTLA accomplished some very fine work on this case. They picked up on a much bigger problem than I detected upon making my initial inquiries. If the Legion pays their dues dating back to 2004, that could generate over a million dollars in previously uncollected revenue. If the money is applied to reduce the next tax rate for town property, it could help a lot of people struggling with inflation these days.
Whatever the money goes to pay for in town, some remedial re-education is in order for town officials and Attorney Christopher Boldt. Their first day of school is January 6th, 2023, and I will be in attendance to watch them all sweat and squirm while answering all the toughest questions on their first big test.
Just when I thought I was done proving how truly corrupt Christopher Boldt really is, the BTLA pulled me back in. I'm looking forward to what they do next to surprise me and benefit all the honest taxpayers who have had to pay for all these avoidable mistakes over the years.
Please stay tuned as we follow this developing story.
CLICK HERE to read Part 1 of the Sins of Omission Series
CLICK HERE to read Part 2 of the Sins of Omission Series
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