Council agrees to lawsuit dismissal

Oconee County Council agreed last night to the dismissal of a lawsuit that divides the council in whether the county should go forward with a claim for taxes allegedly owed by the owners of a corporate airplane.  In the second of three required readings, the council voted for a “release or order of dismissal” of the county’s 2014 claim titled, “Oconee County, Kevin Robinson, Oconee County Delinquent Tax Collector versus Hangar III, LLC, 25 EP Corp., BDS, Jerry Edwards and Steve Edwards.”  Second reading of the ordinance also contains a 10-year extension of the lease on a hangar at the county airport.  Last night’s vote was 3 to 2—-with Cain, McCall, and Cammick voting yes and Thrift and Dexter voting no.  Dividing the council last night was the issue of the prospects to succeed if the county went to trial.  District One Councilwoman Edda Cammick said, at her expense, she consulted lawyers who advised her that the county would likely fail.  But District Five’s Reg Dexter said the county had received opposite opinions from lawyers.  Reading from a prepared statement, Dexter said, “My major reason for opposing the settlement agreement is the tax on the plane.  I pay my taxes and I hope you do, too.  After all, these taxes provide the much needed services to our citizens.”  According to Dexter, a tax forgiveness of $315 thousand dollars to the defendants is a gift.  But Cammick called the lawsuit nonsense and called it “personal and political”—an apparent reference to discord between the Edwards’ Daily Journal and councilmen Thrift and Dexter.