Atlanta church at risk of being sold over unpaid taxes they didn’t know existed

Atlanta church at risk of being sold over unpaid taxes they didn't know they owed

An Atlanta church is in danger of being sold on the courthouse steps because property taxes have not been paid in years.

But Solid Rock Christian Ministries is a registered nonprofit and hasn’t had to pay property taxes for decades. The pastor says they weren’t aware that changed when the tax debt grew.

“We had no idea we were even getting reports,” said Pastor Jahmaul Williams.

(TO DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for notifications when the news breaks)

“Since the establishment of this ministry, from 1978 to 2017, we never had to pay taxes. We were considered tax-free,” he continued.

According to Williams, the church didn’t realize anything had changed because the new tax bills were sent to the home of a deceased former pastor.

“The province had been sending this tax bill to the previous pastor, who died in 1996, for a number of years,” he said.

More than 45 years ago, Pastor Williams’ grandmother donated her home to become her church building in a rapidly gentrifying northwest Atlanta neighborhood on Huff Road.

Fulton County sold the tax debt to a company called Investa Services, which is now trying to foreclose on the home next month unless the small municipality pays $67,000 in tax debt, interest and fees.

“First Tuesday in August, we were notified that they were going to sell our property on the courthouse steps,” Williams said.

State Senator Donzella James has asked Fulton County for answers.

“I can’t understand how a church that is active and functioning in the community can go from non-profit to profitable,” she said. Justin Gray, Channel 2 Consumer Researcher.

A county official told James that they had revoked the church’s property tax exemption because of the way the title was registered. It had a person’s name on it. It always has been that way. The owner is listed as “Johnson Carrie Admr Church.”

The church’s first pastor, Carrie Johnson, died in 1989.

“There are a lot of people here who are dropping balls, and now we need to stop this and give them a chance to be satisfied, instead of having their property sold on the courthouse steps,” said Senator James.

The church has hired a lawyer and is trying to resolve the ownership issue.

For many years there was no problem with the county’s property taxes and the church remains a registered nonprofit organization with both the state and federal governments.

“We shouldn’t be taxed. We’re a church. We’re known as a ministry,” Williams said.

Channel 2 Action News contacted both the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s Office and Investa Services for comment.

POPULAR STORIES:

Neither of them responded.

Under Georgia law, third-party lien holders must notify you within 60 days that they are assuming your debt.

They may charge you a one-time 10% penalty and 1% interest per month.

They must wait 12 months before they can be seized.

(TO REGISTER: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter)

IN OTHER NEWS:

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is provided by our partners and/or the news agencies. Copyright and Credits go to the news agencies, email [email protected] Follow us WhatsApp verified channel