After months of examining tax records from previous years, the current leadership for the Robstown Area Development Commission (RADC) discovered unpaid tax bills dating back to 2021.
RADC leaders said the debt has put their work in jeopardy and they are working with IRS to help make things right.
“The board is aware of our financial situation, with the IRS filings and we have been addressing those issues for the last several months,” John Valls, Executive Director for the RADC said.
The RADC currently has not filed its taxes since 2021, and Valls said he, along with the current board took over in 2021.
“When the board took over the organization, I mean they really were reviving it from the ashes, I mean the board was left with nothing,” Valls said. “When they brought me on board we basically had to start from scratch, so we are in the process of cleaning up a lot of stuff that needed to be cleaned up and hadn’t been addressed in a long time.”
Valls said the RADC is an organization that receives public funding which is why it’s also important to have their documents up to date.
“We are in good financial position, we have a healthy bank account, it is just in getting all of our financial filings in order are paramount to the board because we have to answer to the local government that funds us,” Valls said.
“We received this information recently and we were not aware of that in anyway shape or form, but we did contact them, it is my understanding that they are working to take care of this problem for us,” Connie Scott, Nueces County Judge said.
Scott said the county will look into more verification when organizations ask for funds.
“The county will be looking into that and maybe incorporating policies to make sure when we give people money, when we fund anything,” Scott said. “In the future that is probably something we should add and look into, about making sure they are in good standing with the IRS.”
Valls said regardless of their standing with the IRS they are still able to provide those who give them funds information on how those funds are used.
“The county has the ability to use our financials at any time, and the port also, anybody that we get money from, they have the ability to review our financials at any time,” Valls said.
Valls also adds it’s important for any organization and the public to know how their funds are being used.
“At the end of the day this is tax payer money that they are charged with overseeing and if they entrust our organization to be a beneficiary of those funds, we have responsibility to be good Stewards of that money as well,” Valls said.
Valls said the RADC has asked the IRS for extension and plans to pay off the debt in the next few months.
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