Lame-duck municipal leader member of exclusive Anglers Club
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Mayor Adam Barringer led the vote to raise property taxes to support the municipal budget back in September while not paying his own taxes, Headline Surfer® has learned after reviewing public records.
When the 24/7 internet newspaper confronted him after a joint luncheon between the New Smyrna Beach City Commission and the Volusia County Council on Thursday in DeLand, he simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled. That afternoon, he ran over to the county offices and subsequently paid the delinquent taxes.
Citizen watchdog Bob Tolley said he's not surprised by the mayor's cavalier attitude as shown in the Headline Surfer® video.
"He thinks he can do whatever he wants -- that is until he gets caught and it looks like he got caught pretty good this time by the media," Tolley said. "It just goes to show what a phony and a hypocrite Adam Barringer is -- nothing more than an empty suit and now he is lighter in the wallet."
Citizen watchdog Bob Tolley, shown here at left, criticized Mayor Adam Barringer for not paying his fair share. until he got caught and was shamed into paying his delinquent taxes.
Citizen watchdog Bob Tolley said he's not surprised by the mayor's cavalier attitude as shown in the Headline Surfer® video. "He thinks he can do whatever he wants -- that is until he gets caught and it looks like he got caught pretty good this time by the media," Tolley said. "It just goes to show what a phony and a hypocrite Adam Barringer is -- nothing more than an empty suit and now he is lighter in the wallet."
An inspection of tax records by Headline Surfer® based on a tip revealed Barringer hadn't paid the $782.31 owed in property taxes for 2013 on his beachside town home at 737 Laurel Bay Circle, according to public records on file with the Volusia County Tax Assessor's Office.
Barringer also owed $1,081.55 in 2013 and another $1,270.81 in 2012 for property taxes for Barringer Construction, the family business with relative Luke Barringer, located at 550 Wayne Ave, that remained delinquent as of noon Thursday.
That was until he was confronted shortly after charming his way through a working lunch set up by County Councilwoman Deb Denys, the district 3 representative for New Smyrna Beach who is seeking re-election and sees passage of a new CRA district as key to gaining insider support for her campaign.
Headline Surfer® confronted the mayor about 1:45 p.m. Thursday following the joint luncheon the New Smyrna Beach City Commission had with the County Council in a first-floor meeting room with food catered by New Smyrna Beach at taxpayer expense.
When the internet newspaper pointed its video camera in the mayor's direction and asked him why he raised taxes but had n't paid his own, he just shrugged his shoulders and smirked before walking off.
Later in the afternoon, Headline Surfer® checked with the Tax Assessor's Office and Barringer's taxes were shown as paid that very afternoon for the town home and for the two years owed on the property at 550 Wayne Avenue.
Even with the recent tax debts cleared off the books, Barringer still owes a whopping $57,426 in state and federal taxes dating as far back as 15 years ago. And the mayor's personal financial woes don't end there.
The public records in the Volusia County Clerk of Court show a $300,000 judgment against Barringer Construction, the Wayne Avenue-based company of which Adam Barringer is listed as a principal owner. The judgment was the result of a construction job that went unfinished, according to the court file. The mayor's Maitland-based SoNapa Grille restaurant was shut down last year, leaving him with the one he started out with before he ran for the top elected municipal post in 2009, barely defeating then-first-term incumbent Sally Mackay.
All is not great with Mayor Adam Barringer's personl finances, In addition to unpaid taxes, his family's construction company and his restaurant business have issues, despite the often confident smirk he exudes when the camera is on him in public as shown here on the New Smyrna Beach Municipal dais.
The public records in the Volusia County Clerk of Court show a $300,000 judgment against Barringer Construction, the Wayne Avenue-based company of which Adam Barringer is listed as a principal owner. The judgment was the result of a construction job that went unfinished, according to the court file.
The mayor's Maitland-based SoNapa Grille restaurant was shut down last year, leaving him with the one he started out with before he ran for the top elected municipal post in 2009, barely defeating then-first-term incumbent Sally Mackay.
The mayor did not return calls for comment after the tax bills were updated and shown as paid in full. Nor has he commented whether he will make any attempt to clean up the long-term tax debts dating back to 1999.
Barringer's tenure as mayor has been rocky to say the least. After flirting with the idea of running for the Statehouse, Barringer was trumped by former Ormond Beach Mayor Fred Costello at a Southeast Volusia Republican Club luncheon as Barringer tried to keep a lid on his recent financial woes.
But Headline Surfer® received a tip from a reliable source who said he was struggling with getting his taxes paid while trying to generate campaign revenue for a political run to succeed GOP State Rep. Dave Hood, of Daytona Beach Shores, who is not seeking a second term because he wants to run for a judgeship instead closer to home after recovering from two brain surgeries.
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