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Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)

May 4, 2004, Tuesday

Correction Appended

GOP chief's family properties showing tax irregularities Warners pay under $6 on
valuable site in Philippi, owe thousands on others
BYLINE: Scott Finn

SECTION: News; Pg. P1A

LENGTH: 748 words

sfinn@wvgazette.com

Their building is worth more than $ 1 million, but their property tax bill was only $ 5.57.

They bought the building three years ago for $ 10,000, and recently put it on the market for $ 795,000.

And their family businesses are delinquent on more than $ 75,000 in local property taxes.

The building is the former Broaddus Hospital in Philippi, owned by state GOP Chairman Kris Warner, Republican gubernatorial
candidate Monty Warner, and their brothers Mac and Ben Warner. They bought it cheap in May 2001, in exchange for a promise to
bring employment to job-starved Barbour County.

They attracted a telemarketing company that employed about 150 people at one point, as well as several smaller businesses. But
the telemarketer pulled out last year, and all the other businesses have left.

Now the Warners are trying to sell the property. Kris Warner said they made a valiant effort, but they couldn't overcome the
state's poor business climate.

"Things are dead in Philippi. No new company wants to come to Philippi, West Virginia. No new business wants to move to
West Virginia," he said. "We can't make companies stay in West Virginia. It's one of the reasons I'm chairman of the party. It's
probably one of the reasons Monty is running for governor. We're trying to make a difference."

Joe Mattaliano, director of the Barbour County Economic Development Authority, said the Warner brothers received a good
building for almost nothing, but failed to follow through.

"No, I don't feel like they fulfilled their promise. They lost a lot of business because they didn't take care of what they're doing,"
Mattaliano said.

"There's not anything we can do," he said. "We got suckered, I think."

The Warners operate the building as Grand Central Business Center - Philippi. It is similar to other business centers they own in
Keyser and Morgantown under the same name.

The state Tax Division recently appraised the Philippi building at slightly more than $ 1 million, according to Barbour County
Assessor Sandra Sipe.

But because Sipe's predecessor never put the property on the books, the Warner property was assessed at the default rate, $ 100.

That former assessor, Democrat Loring Phillips, was accused of using $ 2,700 in taxpayer money on personal building supplies.

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 He resigned in December 2002 and paid the money back to avoid prosecution.

Sipe said Phillips was aware that the Warners' property was not properly assessed, but apparently did nothing about it.

When she was appointed assessor in January 2003, she said she was shocked to learn the property had never been reappraised.

She said she is trying to have the property reassessed and will attempt to recover the lost property taxes, estimated at more than
$ 29,000.

Kris Warner said he was not aware they were paying only $ 5 in property taxes on the Philippi property. He also questioned if
the property was worth $ 1 million.

Ben Warner said Sipe sent him a letter about the erroneous appraisal in December, and he was waiting for her to tell him what
to pay. He said he never questioned the low tax bill.

"It never really dawned on me. They send us the bills, and we pay 'em," Ben Warner said.

Sipe said Warner should have known something was wrong with the tax bill and tried to correct the situation himself.

"This property generated a lot of income for the owners, but all they paid in taxes was $ 5. I would have known that I should pay
more than $ 5 in taxes that year," she said.

The Warners are delinquent on what little property taxes they were charged for this year on the $ 1 million property, Sipe said -
$ 5.55.

They also are delinquent on property taxes in other towns. Another company owned by the four brothers, McCoy 6, owes more
than $ 50,000 in property taxes in Morgantown.

And the Grand Central Business Center in Keyser owes more than $ 22,000. Those taxes officially became delinquent April 1,
but many assessors give taxpayers until the end of April before publishing their names.

Ben Warner said he manages the properties in question and took responsibility for the late taxes. He said he sent out a check to
Keyser late last week, and planned to pay the rest this week.

"It's a family-run business. We've been in business for 23 years. We've always paid our taxes. I need to be a little more diligent
on my end. That's my responsibility," he said.

To contact staff writer Scott Finn, use e-mail or call 357-4323.

LOAD-DATE: May 4, 2004

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

CORRECTION-DATE: May 5, 2004, Wednesday

CORRECTION:

A story in Tuesday's Gazette gave the wrong value for what Kris and Monty Warner's family paid for the former Broaddus
Hospital in Philippi. They paid $ 1. The article also misidentified the county agency in charge of publishing delinquency notices on
taxes. The Sheriff's Tax Office does that.

Copyright 2004 Charleston Newspapers

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