County agrees to lawsuit settlement

Cherokee County Council agreed Monday to pay its former tax assessor $9,500 as part of a settlement of a wrongful termination lawsuit.

County attorney Joe Mathis announced the settlement after meeting with council in a 15- minute executive session. Mathis said the settlement also includes no admission or denial of any allegation in the lawsuit.

Former county tax assessor Barry Kelley contended he was fired in retaliation for reporting that the county had not properly charged taxes to certain citizens who claimed tax exemptions for agricultural property.

Kelley had asked the court for damages, including lost wages and benefits, as well as damages for embarrassment and emotional harm. He sought an order to return as the county tax assessor.

The 2-page lawsuit filed in the Cherokee County Court of Common Pleas in August 2006 claimed that due to the fact the county government did not seek and collect taxes on properties owned by 1,000 citizens as required by law, a majority of county taxpayers lost tax revenue in the amount of thousands of dollars.

The lawsuit said Kelly reported that although the United States Census Bureau identified approximately 64,000 acres in the county that were used for agricultural purposes, approximately 200,000 acres were listed by the county for agricultural purposes.

"The plaintiff's report about the uncollected taxes was made verbally and in writing to his superiors," the lawsuit said.

The county fired Kelley July 19, 2005, in retaliation for his report about the uncollected taxes, the lawsuit claimed.

He challenged his firing in an appeal to the county's grievance committee, which upheld the dismissal.