MORAVIA - Whether or not New Hope Bible Fellowship's vacant parsonage in Moravia remains on the tax rolls is still undecided. While new paperwork they submitted needs review, additional required forms weren't turned in.
At the Moravia Town Board meeting Wednesday night, Doug Weed, of New Hope Mills Bible Fellowship, submitted a short form to confirm his organization's status as a church.
The town clerk had mailed three newer required forms to the church Nov. 13, but Weed said they weren't received. New Hope Bible Fellowship's mail went missing.
“We never received any notification that we had to fill out anything but a 19-page form,” Weed said. “We have not received anything in the mail or an update.”
Mail should have been forwarded to the church treasurer, Dorothy Hill, since the church mailbox was shut down. But the town clerk didn't know that and the post office didn't forward them.
As a result, Town Supervisor Gary Hatfield and the board agreed to wait until Dec. 16 to receive the forms.
Town assessor Linda Wright added the church's parsonage to the 2009 tax rolls because it was empty and the church had no parson, constituting a change in status.
She first asked the organization to fill in a 19-page form to substantiate its exempt status before taking the parsonage back off the rolls.
At the Oct. 21 town board meeting, Weed questioned why the church, located at 2362 Oak Hill Road, had received a tax bill. The board then granted New Hope Fellowship an exemption contingent on receiving required forms properly completed and submitted.
Concerned about financial information required on the long form, the church handed in a shorter renewal form.
“He will not get (the exemption) with a renewal notice,” Wright said.
She said she was putting her best foot forward to get the church an exemption status for 2009 that was taken away.
After researching, Wright found she could send three sets of new applications not requiring financial information, about eight pages, to the church.
“I found a newer, less in-depth paper to fill out,” she said. She determined she could use the mandatory 420-a application, which asks for IRS information and articles of incorporation as well as statements supporting a primary purpose of the organization and what the property is being used for.
The second form, the 420-ab application for property use, also has to be filed along with a third form, 464, relating to a religious organization with a property used for a parsonage. Whether an ordained minister would occupy the parsonage also comes into play.
“I have reviewed the best law without information from them (the fellowship), “ she said. “I sent 420-a because I feel they are a church used exclusively for one thing.”
She said she needs to see a charter to determne whether they are incorporated or not.
“Beginning in 2010, Wright said, “all exemptions will have to file a renewal notice to maintain their status.”
Even if the exemption is allowed to the church for 2009, similar issues may arise in 2010, she said.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
The town clerk had mailed three newer required forms to the church Nov. 13, but Weed said they weren't received. New Hope Bible Fellowship's mail went missing.
“We never received any notification that we had to fill out anything but a 19-page form,” Weed said. “We have not received anything in the mail or an update.”
Mail should have been forwarded to the church treasurer, Dorothy Hill, since the church mailbox was shut down. But the town clerk didn't know that and the post office didn't forward them.
As a result, Town Supervisor Gary Hatfield and the board agreed to wait until Dec. 16 to receive the forms.
Town assessor Linda Wright added the church's parsonage to the 2009 tax rolls because it was empty and the church had no parson, constituting a change in status.
She first asked the organization to fill in a 19-page form to substantiate its exempt status before taking the parsonage back off the rolls.
At the Oct. 21 town board meeting, Weed questioned why the church, located at 2362 Oak Hill Road, had received a tax bill. The board then granted New Hope Fellowship an exemption contingent on receiving required forms properly completed and submitted.
Concerned about financial information required on the long form, the church handed in a shorter renewal form.
“He will not get (the exemption) with a renewal notice,” Wright said.
She said she was putting her best foot forward to get the church an exemption status for 2009 that was taken away.
After researching, Wright found she could send three sets of new applications not requiring financial information, about eight pages, to the church.
“I found a newer, less in-depth paper to fill out,” she said. She determined she could use the mandatory 420-a application, which asks for IRS information and articles of incorporation as well as statements supporting a primary purpose of the organization and what the property is being used for.
The second form, the 420-ab application for property use, also has to be filed along with a third form, 464, relating to a religious organization with a property used for a parsonage. Whether an ordained minister would occupy the parsonage also comes into play.
“I have reviewed the best law without information from them (the fellowship), “ she said. “I sent 420-a because I feel they are a church used exclusively for one thing.”
She said she needs to see a charter to determne whether they are incorporated or not.
“Beginning in 2010, Wright said, “all exemptions will have to file a renewal notice to maintain their status.”
Even if the exemption is allowed to the church for 2009, similar issues may arise in 2010, she said.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
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owastocat wrote on Dec 1, 2009 2:47 PM:
Why is the church so concerned about the financial information that the town requires on the official forms that they filed a shorter form? Makes us wonder what they have to hide? "