OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – Three current employees and two former employees in the Oktibbeha County Tax Assessor and Collector’s Office could be on the hook for more than $31,000 after an investigation by the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office found they allegedly failed to collect city taxes on vehicle tags for multiple city residents.
The county denies that allegation and is instead blaming the discrepancy on mapping errors dating back as far as 2009, with Oktibbeha County Tax Assessor JoHelen Walker calling it “an inherited, historical ‘human error.’”
“The allegations made against me … are completely false, politically motivated, and entirely misrepresent a deep-rooted, structural mapping issue that predates my administration,” Walker wrote in a statement sent to The Dispatch on Tuesday.
The auditor’s office sent letters May 5 demanding $17,643 from Walker; $3,695 from bookkeeper Crystal Lawston; $3,540 from Deputy Clerk Mechelle “Deborah” Scott; $4,906 from former Deputy Clerk Emily Conn; and $1,506 from former Deputy Tax Assessor Julia Nowell, citing allegations of unlawful donations, failure to collect ad valorem taxes and violation of their official obligations.
Jacob Walters, communications director for the auditor’s office, said an investigation found the employees allowed select city residents to pay only county ad valorem taxes when purchasing or renewing their vehicle tags, resulting in unpaid city tax revenue.
Under Mississippi law, residents who live inside municipal boundaries are required to pay both city, county and school district ad valorem taxes when purchasing or renewing vehicle tags. Residents outside city limits pay only county and school taxes.
Walker claims the issue stems from the “misdistricting” of approximately 485 parcels in Oktibbeha County. Those properties were incorrectly mapped outside municipal taxing districts, despite being physically located within city limits – discrepancies Walker claims to have inherited when taking office in January 2024.
That classification affects how vehicle taxes and other ad valorem taxes are calculated.
Rob Roberson, attorney for the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and the county’s initial point of contact for the demand letters, said the districting errors may date back to 2009 when county supervisors hired the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District to reassign all county addresses to comply with 911 standards.
However, Roberson said much of the issues likely occurred in 2022, after Starkville annexed approximately 2.3 miles of territory around Clayton Village that brought about 1,400 residents into the city.
“I think it’s entirely possible that when the redistricting happened … it did not get completely straightened out until later,” he told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “That being said, I’m basing this off of what little information I have now.”
Walker said redistricting data does not automatically update in Delta Computer Systems, the software the county uses to maintain tax records and parcel information. She said that allowed the mapping errors to remain in the system, unbeknownst to her, until she took office.
Walker said she discovered the nearly 500 misdistricted parcels shortly after taking office and had them corrected within about two weeks.
“At the time this happened, I was a clerk … so there was no way for me to know if the districts were in the correct place,” Walker told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “… These things were not done under the administration of JoHelen ‘Joey’ Walker. These errors … have been corrected … and moving forward, everything else will be corrected if there’s a problem.”
Walters said the auditor’s office is not alleging criminal conduct. Roberson said, to his understanding, the auditor’s findings of alleged negligence do not rise to the level of criminal intent.
Settled lawsuit
Similar allegations were made against Walker by former employee Carol Vaughn in a 2024 lawsuit that was settled in April.
Vaughn, who was fired Jan. 9, 2024, claimed she faced discrimination after Walker took office and was wrongfully terminated. She also claimed her rights under the state’s whistleblower law were violated.
The lawsuit alleged Walker, then a deputy clerk campaigning to be tax assessor, was “directing and participating in the theft of county funds” by allowing select city taxpayers to be taxed at the lesser county rate for “the apparent political advantage of endearing herself to prominent citizens, Starkville police officers, and others whom she believed would provide valuable political support.”
Those claims were later dismissed as part of the settlement, though Roberson declined to disclose the terms of the agreement.
Those named in the demand letters have 30 days to pay the demands in full. If the demands are not paid, the state auditor’s office will initiate a civil lawsuit.
Roberson said it will be up to the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to determine whether he will provide legal representation to the county employees named in the demand letters.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
