Gerald Harvey, state legislative candidate, in tax quagmire

Gerald Harvey, a Georgia House of Representatives candidate, paid back a chunk of delinquent taxes Thursday after tax documents showed he owed about $7,800 on two Macon properties.

Harvey, a former Macon city councilman who is running for the House District 142 seat, is set to face former state Sen. Miriam Paris the May 24 Democratic primary for the District 142 seat left vacant by Nikki Randall, who is not seeking re-election. There are no Republican candidates in the race.

According to tax documents, Harvey owed $3,051 on a Silver Pines Drive house he lists as his residence. That amount included delinquent taxes, penalties and interest since 2014. Also, a commercial property at 1047 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. that he owns had two liens placed on it — in 2012 and 2013. The unpaid tax bill on that property was $4,749 as of Thursday morning.

But Thursday afternoon, Harvey paid back the full amount owed on the Silver Pines property as well as $2,379 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard property, leaving a balance of about $2,370, according to the tax commissioner’s website.

“It’s not that I’m dodging any responsibility of bills I owe,” Harvey said. “I’m willing to take care of that.”

When first contacted by The Telegraph on Thursday about the delinquent taxes, Harvey said that if voters had questions about his tax bills he would personally address the issue with them, but he would not comment about the situation in the media. A few minutes later, he called The Telegraph back and said he was caught off guard by the amount the county said he owed.

Harvey said he questions whether his delinquent tax bill includes taxes on properties he no longer owns. He also said he does not believe he owes the amount the county claims he does.

“They may have applied them to the wrong share of properties at different times,” he said. “I’ve since sold some of the properties, and that’s what’s in dispute now.”

Harvey said he contacted the Tax Commissioner’s Office about the matter in March, but that was a busy time for the office due to homestead exemptions. He said that while campaigning in the House race, he forgot to follow up on the matter.

“We’ll have to sit down and go check by check,” he said.

Cathy Price, collections deputy for the Macon-Bibb County Tax Commissioner’s Office, said Thursday that the office is working through the issue with Harvey.

“He’s got a payment agreement with us,” she said. “He’s provided checks, and we’ll verify the payment he’s made and make sure they’re applied properly.”

Harvey’s taxes aren’t the only property-related controversy in District 142.

In March, Harvey filed a complaint questioning the residency of Frank Austin, who was a third candidate in the race. That complaint led to Austin being disqualified. A judge ruled that although Austin owned a home in the district, he could not prove that he lived there long enough to meet the one-year requirement to become a candidate. Austin has appealed the decision and said another hearing is set to take place next week.

When informed of Harvey’s delinquent taxes Thursday, Paris replied that the situation was “very unfortunate,” but she declined to comment further.

“We’re really focused on running our own race,” she said.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Gerald Harvey, state legislative candidate, in tax quagmire."