A familiar face is returning to county government sooner than expected, as former tax collector Greg West steps back into the role following Sebastian Cothran’s sudden resignation. 

“I would just like to say thank you,” West said. “I appreciate all the support I received during the Primary Election. I’m humbled and very appreciative. I look forward to the opportunity to get back in the office and work hard for the citizens of Haywood County.

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners believes it has the authority to appoint an interim tax collector, after the incumbent resigned March 25.

Haywood County Tax Collector Sebastian Cothran abruptly resigned mid-day on March 24, ending a brief tenure that began with his historic election at age 21 — one of the youngest elected officials in North Carolina at the time.

An anonymous payment recently applied to decades-old tax bills owed by a sitting Haywood County commissioner presents the appearance of impropriety and may violate campaign finance law and the Board of Commissioners’ ethics policy. 

Substantial questions about the payment remain, but at least one thing is certain — the long drama surrounding Commissioner Terry Ramey’s unpaid taxes is not settled. 

Buried deep within a 40-page regulatory reform bill that became law last week, a new policy handed down by the Republican-led General Assembly will require tax collectors in every North Carolina county and municipality to install a sign “in a conspicuous manner” on each parcel subject to a lien for delinquent property taxes. 

Commissioners voted unanimously June 3 to accept Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead’s proposed annual budget which, in spite of inflation, forthcoming debt for a jail expansion and the loss of a major employer last year, contains no tax increase.

New details from the Haywood County Tax Collector’s office show that Haywood Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey, who until recently hadn’t paid his property taxes since 2012, also failed to pay property taxes for at least five years before that, resulting in nearly $1,600 in taxes being deemed uncollectible.

Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey should pay his taxes and stop threatening the media for reporting on the issue, according to a rare joint statement issued by the other four Republicans on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners.

Of the many Republican victories in the 2022 General Election amid a red wave washing over Western North Carolina that brought multiple unexpected GOP wins, 21-year-old Sebastian Cothran’s remains the most surprising.  

The state of North Carolina’s only elected tax collector and one of Haywood County's few elected Democrats will lose his seat after being defeated by his Republican challenger.