Plymouth Twp Treasurer Stonewalls 69 Year Old Woman From Getting Her Tax Bills

This is a story about a lovely woman named Barbara Pyle. Barbara is 69 years old, and has lived in Plymouth Township since 1988. She lives on Sheldon Road in a house owned by her and her sister. For years, Barbara took care of her Mom at this house, and when her Mom died, she left the house to Barbara and her sister Sandra. Barbara lives in this house, and pays the taxes.

Three years ago, Barbara's sister, who lives in Grand Rapids, quit claimed her half of the house to her trust. She then went to Plymouth Township, claimed ownership of the house, and asked Treasurer Ron Edwards to send her the tax bills, and all assessments associated with the property. Without even bothering to do a title search, Ron Edwards agreed to do this, unbeknownst to Barbara Pyle, who not only owns half of the house, but also is the sole person living there, and the sole person paying taxes on the property.

To be clear, Barbara Pyle pays all of the taxes on the property, and her name is on the deed.. Barbara found out what Treasurer Edwards did the next time taxes came due, and she received the bill in late December from her sister. She came up with the money, and went to Treasurer Edward's office and paid her taxes, but also requested that a copy of the bill be sent to her, as well as all assessments. This is a reasonable request, and one that should have been handled immediately, by any one of his assistants.

Treasurer Ron Edwards refused. He told Barbara Pyle that he was under no obligation to send her a copy of the bill. So to be clear, Mr. Edwards somehow felt that it was proper to send a tax bill for a house on Sheldon Road to Grand Rapids, and that it was improper to send the tax bill to the actual house.

I can't even begin to try to understand the logic in this, but this is what Mr. Edwards did. Barbara Pyle put up with this for 3 years, until finally she showed up in tears at the law office of a Plymouth Attorney. It was at Christmas time, and she had just received her tax bill in the mail from her sister. She had to pay this bill in early February, and at the advice of friends she decided it was time to hire a lawyer. She was a wreck, she had been stonewalled by the Plymouth Township Treasurer, and she needed help.

All she wanted was a copy of her tax bill to be mailed to her home.

Barbara lives on a fixed income. She needs to know if her taxes are going to increase, so that she can save the money to pay them on time. She has never once been late with a tax payment, and she needs this information to be able to continue this. After meeting with Barbara, and hearing her story that night, the attorney decided to take her case, and he did it pro-bono. The woman is on a fixed income, and he wasn't going to take her money to solve what should have been a very simple matter.

The next business day, Barbara, accompanied by her attorney, showed up at the Treasurer's office with her check for her taxes. Her attorney made the request to have her tax bill, and any assessments sent to Ms. Pyle's home. Ron Edwards stated that he would not do that. When her attorney informed him that Ms. Pyle's name is on the title of the house, Mr. Edwards said that he would only believe that information if Ms. Pyle did a title search and produced evidence that her name was indeed on the title of the house.

Remember, that he decided to begin sending the tax bills to Barbara Pyle's sister, without making her do a title search, so why did he demand that Barbara Pyle pay for a title search? This woman lives on a fixed income, and she can't afford to be doing title searches just to get her darn tax bill sent to her house in Plymouth Township for gosh sakes. So why did Ron Edwards demand that Barbara do a title search when he made no such demand from her sister?

I called Treasurer Edwards to find this out, and he did not answer his phone, nor did anyone at the Treasurers office on Thursday, May 9th. Nobody answered the phones at the Treasurers Office, and nobody answered the phone at the main number at the Plymouth Township Hall. I called three separate times, and could not get a person on the line. What the heck are we paying these people for?

So Ms. Pyle went and paid for a title search to be done by First Security Title, in Plymouth. The search showed that Ms. Pyle's name had been on the title consistently since 1988, exactly as Ms. Pyle stated. This information was brought to Treasurer Edwards office, and you would think the matter would be settled. It was not.

Ms. Pyle still can not get her assessments or tax bills mailed to her home. So, after one request by Ms. Pyle, and two more requests made by her attorney since that day in December, Barbara Pyle is still being stonewalled by Treasurer Ron Edwards.

Barbara Pyle has gone above and beyond, in getting the information demanded by Treasurer Edwards. She provided proof of ownership. She, and her attorney have been courteous and respectful in their dealings with the Treasurers Office. The final slap in Barbara Pyle's face occurred on April 2nd 2014.

Ms. Pyle, again accompanied by her attorney, showed up with an official letter stating that they have provided the necessary Quit Claim Deeds, further stating that they have made two requests for tax bills and assessments to be sent to Ms. Pyle, and finally stating that she would like verification that these bills will be mailed to her. I have read the letter, and it is respectful, and to the point.

When 69 year old Barbara Pyle stepped up to the desk at the Treasurers Office, and handed the letter to Deputy Treasurer, Amy Hammye, Barbara Pyle was accused of harassing her. Deputy Treasurer Amy Hammye asked Ms. Pyle why she was harassing her.

How does a 4 foot 10 inch 69 year old woman harass somebody? Are you serious? Barbara Pyle is 2 inches short of 5 feet tall, she is 69 years old, and a lovely, soft spoken woman. For a Plymouth Township employee to accuse her of harassment is disgusting. It is disgusting, and she should be reprimanded for her behavior towards a senior citizen, and longtime taxpayer.

Treasurer Ron Edwards has refused to do his job as treasurer. He made a senior citizen cry. He still stonewalls, and now he won't even talk to Barbara Pyle or her lawyer. He won't tell her why he is refusing to send her the darn bill.

All of this over a five cent copy, and a 49 cent stamp.

I have done some research on this, and what I have found out, is that the proper procedure in a case like this, is for the Treasurer's office to send the tax bill, and assessments to the residence, and a copy of the bill, and assessments to the other person named on the title.

I call on Treasurer Ron Edwards to do his job, and get Barbara Pyle the information she needs in order to continue to pay her taxes. She just wants to do the right thing...