Oct

28

COMBAT tax gone awry? Local couple trapped in awful bureaucratic nightmare

October 28, 2009 | 6 Comments

What would you do if your house was suddenly yanked out from under you because of something that happened to it years before you owned it?

Jackson County’s COMBAT anti-drug program has trapped a well-meaning young couple trying to rehab a former drug house.  They recently bought a house in the Old Northeast area, only to discover after the fact that it was a drug house 9 years ago and COMBAT refuses to release it from legal restrictions.  The homeowners risk arrest by being on their own property, and claim that COMBAT refuses to tell say how to get the house cleared.

Listen to the homeowners tell their story on KKFI-FM 90.1

The COMBAT tax is up for renewal on November 3rd.  While conventional wisdom says that COMBAT is a great community program not should not be questioned, there are definitely some big problems. In addition to this crazy story, two of COMBAT’s top administrators have been convicted of financial crimes (Henry Rizzo and James Tindall).  And then there are all of the issues around the War on Drugs and its success or failure.

COMBAT tax renewal campaign

COMBAT web site

Categories: Crime, Jackson County


Comments

6 Comments so far

  1. Bryan on October 28, 2009 2:16 pm

    While I don’t support “the war on drugs”, I do support COMBAT. The program does a wide variety of good in the city and surrounding areas, including working with at-risk youth.

    Like anything public or private, there’s going to be the occasional rough edge or dropped ball. Those things need to be addressed. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water; support COMBAT.

  2. Dan on October 28, 2009 10:15 pm

    Is it any surprise that a tax administered by criminals as a personal slush fund is not responsive to the common good? I agree 100% that the COMBAT supports a lot of good things – they pay off almost every good nonprofit in the area – but I’ve heard a lot of people who are planning to vote against it this time. That’s why it’s on the ballot in 2010 even though it doesn’t run out until 2011. If enough people vote against it this time, they might be forced to make necessary changed before they bring a better law to us in 2011.

  3. locomotivebreath1901 on October 29, 2009 4:03 pm

    Oh, this is rich. “Lifestyle” Leftists seeking refuge & redress of grievances under private property rights from the collective tentacles of imperial gub’mint.

    Anything from KKFI is immediately suspect as being long on weepy narrative and short on facts, and this 49 minute audio didn’t disappoint.

    More time was devoted to bashing the COMBAT tax than addressing the “Kafkaesque” (and illegal) plight of these young home owners being restricted from their own home.

    There’s a reason why clear titles come with title insurance. CONTACT A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY and file a lawsuit against the county. Most any sane judge will issue an injunction against the county for restricting access to their own house until this is sorted out…

  4. AH on October 30, 2009 8:49 am

    Not sure how the title company could miss that one.

  5. thomas on October 30, 2009 10:39 am

    Listening to the couple talk for 40 minutes made me question them more than COMBAT. While I’m sure the situation is frustrating for them (getting the house cleared should be easier), the couple sounded like looney conspiracy theorists.

    I’d like to hear COMBAT’s side of the story.

  6. Lisa on November 4, 2009 3:31 pm

    I was at the COMBAT community meeting that took place before the vote and the couple in question were also there and made quite a scene. They have been told many times how they can get their house removed from the list of drug houses. It’s actually a fairly simple procedure, all they have to do is allow a county inspector look over the house to ensure that it is no longer a drug house and then their house would be removed from the list. While it probably is an inconvience and a bit intrusive, it’s a simple fix to their problem
    and it seems a bit suscpicious that they are so opposed to letting someone inspect their house considering I am sure that before they bought the house that they had an inspection (albeit of a different nature) done. They are creating a mountain out of a mole hill and seem fairly unstable.

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