Madison tax collector fined for late payments says life events got in the way

Madison Borough’s tax collector is accused of ignoring requests from county auditors to access his records and as a result owes more than $2,800 for making late tax payments.

Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer said an audit released Monday of collections made by Madison tax collector John Fassett last year found no irregularities with collections, only that the elected official was systematically late in turning over revenue to the county and dodged efforts to have his records reviewed.

“We had to put a subpoena in front of the guy to get a response,” Balzer said. “It’s only the second time in 12 years I’ve had to do a subpoena. We always found it easier to keep calling because diplomacy always wins the day.”

Fassett has been the tiny borough’s tax collector since 2014. He was elected to a second term in office in 2021.

Property taxes paid to tax collectors are required to be sent to the county within five days of receipt by the local authority. The audit said Fassett took two months or longer to turn over payments to the county.

Fassett was fined $2,500 for making late payments over a 10-month period ending in December, Balzer said. An additional $383 in fees were assessed to cover for the cost to hire a constable to serve Fassett with a subpoena after he failed to respond to requests from county auditors to review his ledgers, the controller said.

Fassett, who is responsible for collecting property taxes tied to the borough’s 124 parcels, said he will challenge the fines and fees.

“I had a breakdown in October and had a lot of life-altering events that happened. I went to the county for help and I was berated when I went to the courthouse,” Fassett said.

He said his personal issues caused a relapse of a preexisting drinking problem, and he has since recovered.

The controller’s office is required by law to audit elected tax collectors. Its findings in regard to Fassett’s office found no incidents of missing funds, only that $68,253 in payments due to the county were late.

Balzer said efforts to contact Fassett this year to arrange for auditors to review his books were unsuccessful.

“He just didn’t respond,” Balzer said.

The audit did not include property tax payments Fassett collected for Madison Borough and the Yough School District.

Fassett said he suspects a political motive was behind the Republican controller’s audit and fines.

“I believe it is because I am a Democrat,” Fassett said. “I will get out of politics because this ain’t worth it.”