Chester owes IRS back taxes

The Churchville lawyer leading the fight against the Augusta County reassessment is paying off two tax liens from the Internal Revenue Service totaling more than $100,000 against his property.

The tax liens are among a series of legal judgments against Francis Chester’s wool mill on file in Augusta County Circuit Court. He said the 2008 IRS liens are the only ones he is paying off now other than the final payment on a state lien.

He attributes the IRS liens to problems with his wool mill in 2004 when a move to the former Stillwater Inc. plant in Augusta Springs did not work out.

“I entered into a contract and brought equipment in from Maine to Augusta Springs,’’ he said.

Subsequent to the move, Chester determined that the Augusta Springs facility had roofing and electrical problems and that “people did not want to come to Augusta Springs.”

Chester said he attempted to get a loan from 22 banks to help with a move back to his Churchville location, but no bank would finance him.

“The banks told me the days of wool mills in this country were over, and that all of them were going to China,’’ Chester said.

The result was that federal withholding tax was not paid for Chester’s employees for several months, resulting in a debt of about $106,000 to the IRS. “I’m hoping to have it paid by the end of this year,’’ he said.

Chester said he never attempted to avoid his tax obligations to the federal government.

“I filed the quarterly forms and I did not hide it,’’ he said. “The company did not have the funds to make payments.”

Chester said he found disclosure of this information “ironic” on the day before tonight’s Augusta County Board of Supervisors meeting where he will present thousands of citizens petitions asking that the current reassessment be set aside.

“This has been on the record since last year,’’ he said of the IRS liens. “Is this coincidental or what?”

The News Virginian checked court records regarding Chester during the process of compiling a profile on him.

Chester said a further search of his records showed that he was owed $800,000 by legal clients who had failed to pay him over a period of several years.

And the attorney said while he could have previously accepted federal farm subsidies for his sheep farm and wool mill operation, he did not believe in them.

As a practicing attorney, Chester is subject to rules of professional guidelines and responsibility under the Virginia State Bar, said Tripp Franklin, who is incoming president of the Augusta County Bar Association.

Chester has said if the reassessment is not set aside, he will file suit in Augusta County Circuit Court. The Long Island native has practiced law for 48 years, and holds three college degrees, including a master’s in political science and a law degree from St. John’s University.

The attorney said there are several issues with the Augusta County reassessment, including the fact that only Blue Ridge Mass Appraisal Company bid on the job.

“This was a sweetheart contract with no competitors. The competitors reached a forgone conclusion that Blue Ridge would get the contract,’’ he said.

Chester said he believes Blue Ridge has breached the contract by not finishing the reassessment and having its work product and methodology ready by Dec. 31.

He also takes issue with the fact that the reassessment was certified by the Augusta County Board of Assessors last week, five days before the meeting where petitions were to be presented to county supervisors.

Chester said final adjustments in reassessments have yet to be received by county residents and none of Blue Ridge’s methodology for the work has been submitted.

“How is is this a finished product when the work papers have not been submitted?” he said.

While the Virginia Attorney General’s Office has rendered an opinion regarding reassessment, Chester said lawsuits regarding it “are virgin territory.”

He said if Augusta County were to set aside the reassessment and return to 2005 values, nothing would be lost except for the county’s share of state store revenues, which amount to about $38,000 a year.

Chester said citizens have a constitutional right to file grievances against their government.

He wants a large crowd to attend tonight’s meeting “so the public can hear arguments.”