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by Barb Dozetos
The town of Benson, Vermont wants to reinstate collection of property taxes on land the Boy Scouts of America owns in Rutland County.
An apparent identity crisis for the organization means its Camp Sunrise could reappear on Benson's Grand List this spring after an absence of almost three decades.
Because the BSA was a non-profit organization, Benson was required to cease taxing the property in 1972. Recently, however, the scouting group has answered accusations of discrimination -- particularly where gays are concerned -- by calling itself a private club.
As far as Benson town officials are concerned, that shift in identity means the end of the organization's eligibility for non-profit tax exemption.
For some residents, the issue is making the tax burden fair. Others see it as an opportunity to serve justice upon an organization known for its discriminatory practices.
Whatever the motivation, support for renewed taxation crosses party, ideological, and social boundaries. It was a conservative town resident who first broached the subject to Jan Ladd, the Benson town clerk. John Fedor, an openly gay member of the Select Board in Benson, took on the task of researching the subject.
Because the BSA charges for and receives revenue from the use of the camp, said Fedor, the land is taxable. "I don't like to equate the scouts with a church, but that is the classification we are looking at." A church's sanctuary or rectory are not taxable, because it does not derive income from it. However, said Fedor, "one of the churches in Benson owns an apartment building and we tax them for that because it produces revenue for them."
Fedor has prepared a questionnaire to present to the Green Mountain Council of the BSA regarding access to and uses of the property on Lake Sunrise. The Select Board must approve it before it is sent on to the scouts for answers. "I expect them to use the private club answers to specific questions about gays. With that, we can place them on the Grand List to be taxed again," said Fedor.
The last assessment done on the Camp Sunrise property was in 1968, when it was valued at $97,200. Though an accurate figure won't be available until camp buildings are examined, a recent estimate values the property alone at almost $1 million. That would mean at least an additional $13,000 in taxes for the Benson coffers.
Neither the potential increase in revenue nor the opportunity to call the Boy Scouts on the private club smokescreen is enough to get some Benson residents to support the taxation. They fear that the Green Mountain Council might opt to sell the property, which could drastically increase lakefront development. The town does not currently have zoning laws to prevent the land from being sold in small lots.
Representatives from the Green Mountain Council of the BSA could not be reached for comment.
