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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

New taxes? How about the old ones?

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Two well known political figures in St. Paul have found themselves in tax trouble.

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First term St. Paul City Council member Melvin Carter confirmed last night that he owes back property taxes on a home he owns on Charles Avenue in St. Paul with his wife, Alecia. The property tax statement says the taxes for payable 2008 were $2,830 and his name was included on a recent list of delinquent property owners just published by the county in the Maplewood Review.

County records show no property tax payments were made on Carter's property on Charles Avenue last year. Here's the Google Street View shot of the address, including what looks like a Carter lawn sign from the 2007 election.

"The error was mine," said Carter, when asked about the taxes. "We just didn't realize it was going delinquent." He said he would pay them today.

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That's also what John Krenik said about his back taxes. A former Republican legislative candidate and would-be soil and water commissioner, his name turned up on the same list as Carter's.

Krenik is also, by the way, the sole publicly declared contender against DFL mayor Chris Coleman in November's election. (Filings don't actually open until July 7.)

Krenik said he owned a lot in St. Paul with a family member and that the sale documentation said he was responsible for the first installment of the annual property taxes. He was surprised to find out that the second half hadn't been paid, leaving the property officially in arrears. "I'm very upset about this," he said, when told of the delinquency.

"It's being taken care of right now," he said, rather tersely last night, after confirming that the taxes hadn't been paid.