Property taxes were paid after Tabernacle lost exempt status, but now it has it back
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – The city is waiting for an appeal process to be over, but expects when that happens, Ocean City’s Tabernacle Baptist Church will have its tax payments refunded.
The church battled with the former pastor to regain control of the building, which had been put in former Pastor Charles Frazier’s family’s hands in 2019 but ultimately returned to the church after a legal battle.
During the time the late pastor and his family owned it, it lost its tax-exempt status for 2019 and 2020 and had to pay the city about $16,000 in property taxes.
A judge ruled in October that the deeds transferring the property into private hands be voided and sent that order to the Cape May County clerk. That means the church should never have lost its tax-exempt status.
Trustees chair Shari Thompson approached City Council Nov. 5 to ask about the status.
“A few months ago we were told by the city once we were able to do that (get the deeds voided), city would be able to refund the taxes paid,” she said during public comment. She added that when she contacted the city clerk again she was told the city had to confer with the county clerk.
“It feels like the goalposts were moved,” Thompson said. “I’m just here to get the status of the refund.”
Later in the meeting, city solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said she expected the refund would be coming once a 45-day period is over in case someone wanted to challenge the judge’s ruling about the deeds.
“I don’t expect anyone to challenge what we consider a wise ruling of the court to get the church back into the hands of the church,” McCrosson said, “but it wouldn’t be wise for the city to act until that 45 days is done.”
She noted the clerk has been busy with other things – the election and all the mail-in ballots that had to be counted, but expects the judge’s order on the deed to be recorded.
“All we’re waiting for is the conclusion of the 45-day appeal period and believe that the city will refund the taxes after that,” McCrosson said.