Neilson has until Nov. 15 to respond to the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors regarding the cancellation of his articles of incorporation and his 1993 funeral home license application, where he stated his business was a sole proprietorship.
The name Loritts-Neilson Funeral Home Inc. is not licensed with the state board, said Jennifer Baugess, the board’s compliance administrative assistant. However, state records show that the name Loritts-Neilson Funeral Home has an active funeral home license. “At whatever point the incorporation was formed, the state board was not notified,” Baugess said.
The problems with the funeral home surfaced after the Dayton Daily News examined Neilson’s West Dayton Development Fund grant award from the city of Dayton. City commissioners voted Oct. 12 to award the $100,000 grant to Neilson, who wants to use the funds as partial reimbursement for $450,000 in renovations he is making to his business.
Neilson did not disclose on his grant application in August that he owed approximately $36,000 in back taxes to Montgomery County and an unknown amount to the Ohio Department of Taxation. Neilson told the Dayton Daily News he did not feel it was necessary to do so because he had made payment arrangements with the state and the county.
The county treasurer’s office confirmed that Neilson had payment arrangements for some of the eight parcels he owns at the funeral home’s address.
A Dayton Daily News records check showed that the funeral home’s articles of incorporation, which are filed in the Secretary of State’s Office, had been canceled because of the unpaid state taxes. State confidentiality laws prevent the state from disclosing the amount.
“For a company to do business in Ohio, they need to be registered in our office,” said Matt McClellan, press secretary for the secretary of state.
However, the state does not strongly enforce this requirement other than threatening to suspend or revoke a company’s license to do business.
If a funeral home loses its state registration and continues to operate, it could potentially jeopardize their status with the state funeral board, Baugess said. The board considers the cancellation of articles of incorporation as a change in ownership.
“Anytime there is an ownership change, even if it’s the same people involved and they are just changing their structure, they have to notify the board within 30 days of that change,” she said. “If they don’t and we find out, the board could take disciplinary action, which includes revoking their license.”
Baugess also said the board encourages all funeral businesses to pay attention to notifications by the state about their business registration.
Baugess sent Neilson a letter dated Oct. 31 spelling out the registration discrepancy.
Neilson declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, who could not be reached.
Both Timothy Downs, deputy director of the city’s Economic Development office, and Veronica Morris, the city’s senior development specialist, said they were only aware of Neilson’s county tax issues when his application was presented to the fund committee. They were also aware Neilson had answered ‘no’ to the question of whether he owed delinquent taxes to the state or political subdivision of the state. Morris said Neilson still qualified for the grant because guidelines state “companies and/or individuals with any outstanding tax obligations or delinquencies must document participation in an active and current repayment plan.” Downs and Morris said Neilson presented that documentation to them.
The fund committee could discuss changing or rephrasing the grant application questions at future meetings, Downs said.
Committee members are likely to discuss whether or not Neilson will be allowed to keep the grant at their Dec. 6 meeting, according to Patricia Rickman, co-chair of the committee.
The grant money is distributed by the economic development office and made possible by a lawsuit Waste Management, Inc. filed against the city in the 1990s.
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