June 20, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Midland Park The Midland Park Borough Council has agreed to a new payback schedule for a borough church that still owes $40,000 in back taxes. The congregation will now have until 2019 to pay off its debt in installments that are much more manageable. Han Maum Reformed Church, a South Korean congregation from Paramus, failed to file a “statement of exemption” with the municipality when it purchased the New Life Ministries property at the top of Irving Street in 2009. New Life had enjoyed tax exempt status. According to borough officials, Han Maum also failed to respond to repeated efforts by the borough’s tax assessor to remedy the situation, so the property was Church gets new payment plan for back taxes assessed, placed on the 2010 tax rolls as required by law, and subsequently listed for a tax sale in 2011. A last minute settlement last year kept the property off the tax sale, with the church agreeing to pay the full amount of taxes due, $50,000, over three years in three installments. The borough waived $17,323 in penalties and interest charges, which would be reinstated if the church failed to make the payments on time. Church officials at the time said that their pastor, who had since died, had been in charge of handling business. Borough Clerk/Administrator Addie Hanna said that a few days prior to May 31, 2012, the due date for a second payment of $20,000, church officials notified her they would not be able to make the payment and asked for a revised payment plan. Under the terms of the new agreement, the church will pay $1,000 a month through Oct. 31, 2012 and $500 a month thereafter until the due amount is paid in full. The agreement also provides that in the event any payment is not received by the tenth day after the due date, the property will be relisted for tax sale for the balance of the taxes due, plus the original interest amount. “This will alleviate the burden on the church in an effort to help the congregation, but still consider the residents of Midland Park by leaving the agreed upon amount owed at the original amount of $50,000 in taxes,” Hanna explained. To date, $11,000 of this amount has been paid. Han Maum Reformed Church purchased the property from New Life Ministries, a contemporary worship church which moved to the borough in 2000 and shared the building with the Eastern Christian Schools’ pre-school program. Irving Park Christian Reformed Church had donated the property to Eastern Christian when it disbanded in 2000 due to dwindling membership after 45 years. Officer Noah Van Vliet was promoted to sergeant of the Midland Park Police Department last week, bringing to four the number of sergeants on the force. The patrol supervisory opening was created by the recent promotion of Mike Marra to the acting chief position. Chief John Casson started his terminal leave in March, pending his official retirement on July 31. Councilman Nick Papapietro, the police committee liaison, said the council selected Van Vliet because “his job performance exemplified the criteria to be promoted to a senior officer.” “He’s done a good job on the force. He is respected in the community and is highly thought of,” Papapietro added. Van Vliet Van Vliet promoted to sergeant has lived in the borough since 1993. Marra said Van Vliet had been groomed for the job by giving him increasing supervisory responsibility over the last few years. As the training officer, he has been responsible for the six-week in-house training required of all new recruits. He is also the traffic officer, a child seat technician, a certified radar operator and is qualified to conduct chemical breath analyses. An EMT, Van Vliet has been a member of the Midland Park Ambulance Corps since January. “It’s a well-deserved promotion, and he will handle his new supervisory role very well,” said Marra. (continued on page 17)