Over the past few months, there have been some concerns about where Town Manager Hozey is registering his vehicle. The plates on his truck are for the state of Alaska, not Virginia. The Mirror contacted Mr. Hozey to get the 411 on why the vehicle is not registered in Northampton County. John is actually still a resident of Alaska. His home and family are still there, and he intends to return once his contract with Cape Charles expires.
From Mr. Hozey:
Wayne, yes, I know someone out there who seems very concerned about this. Virginia Code requires all new residents to register their vehicles with the state. But I have never claimed Virgina as my state of residency. I am an Alaskan resident; and have been for over 30 years. I am still registered to vote up there, I have an Alaskan driver’s license, I own property up there, and all my kids and grandkids are still up there. I did not move here permanently. I am essentially an out-of-state worker, who came here to work a temporary job. My employment will expire at the conclusion of my current contract. At which time I intend to return to my home state.
About the Author
Seems like he intended to make cape Charles his home by his statement here. Pay your fair share!
According to an article on the Cape Charles Happenings website, Mr. John F. Hozey, III of Wallops Island, Virginia, has been appointed as Town Manager for the Town of Cape Charles, effective March 9, 2020.
Mr. Hozey has over twenty-one years of experience working in local, state and federal government, having previously served as the deputy chief of staff for Alaska Governor Bill Walker, city manager of the city of Valdez, Alaska, administrative director for Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, and assistant borough manager of Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Mr. Hozey earned his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida before joining the United States Air Force and serving eleven years in combat search and rescue as a rescue pilot and senior rescue controller, Pentagon program manager and flight commander in Okinawa, Japan, the District of Columbia and Alaska. While in the Air Force, Mr. Hozey obtained his Master’s in Public Administration from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Mr. Hozey is married to Rhonda, has two grown sons, Jack and James, and an Irish Setter named Chase and is interested in camping, hiking, history and science. Mr. Hozey currently lives on Wallops Island in a home that has been in his family for three generations but plans to relocate to Cape Charles.
Mr. Hozey states that, “My wife and I are very excited about joining the community of Cape Charles. I’ve been coming to the Eastern Shore my whole life and am so looking forward to now calling Cape Charles home.”
Did he vote for Sarah Palin, one wonders?
Alaska, like most other states, requires PHYSICAL PRESENCE in the state to prove residency. To receive a state dividend payment, the resident must prove that he or she was physically present for a minimum of 180 days per year.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/alaska/15-AAC-23.143
(a) An individual’s intent to establish residency, remain indefinitely in Alaska, or to return to Alaska and remain indefinitely is demonstrated through the establishment and maintenance of customary ties indicative of Alaska residency and the absence of those ties elsewhere. Acts that are required by law or contract or are routinely performed by temporary residents of Alaska are not by themselves evidence of residency. In evaluating whether an individual claiming Alaska residency has demonstrated an intent to remain indefinitely in Alaska, the department will consider whether or not an individual has:
(1) taken steps to establish Alaska residency and sever residency in a previous state or country;
(2) ties to another state or country that indicate continued residency in the other state or country; and
(3) taken other action during the qualifying year, through the date of application, that is inconsistent with an intent to remain in Alaska indefinitely.
(b) An individual may not become a resident while absent from Alaska.
(c) Physical presence in Alaska is not, by itself, sufficient to establish residency. Before January 1 of the qualifying year, an individual must have taken at least one step beyond physical presence in Alaska to establish residency. The department will not consider external indicators, including those listed in 15 AAC 23.173(g), established less than six months before December 31 of the qualifying year as evidence of the establishment of Alaska residency in time to qualify for the current year dividend.
(d) An individual is not eligible for a dividend if, at any time from January 1 of the qualifying year through the date of application, the individual has
(1) maintained the individual’s principal home in another state or country, regardless of whether the individual spent a majority of time at that home, except while absent for a reason listed
(A) in AS 43.23.008(a)(1) – (3), (9) – (11), or (16); or
(B) in AS 43.23.008(a)(13), if the eligible resident whom the individual accompanies is absent for a reason listed in (A) of this paragraph;
(2) claimed or maintained a claim of residency in another state or country in the individual’s employment personnel records; if the individual claims an error or a delay was made in processing by the personnel office, the individual must submit
(A) from the personnel office, a certified copy of the individual’s request to change the individual’s state of legal residence; or
(B) a sworn statement from the personnel officer who has specific knowledge that the personnel office made an error, or caused a delay, in processing the individual’s personnel records; the personnel officer must state the exact date the records show the original request was received and why the request was not processed timely;
(3) claimed a non-resident motor vehicle tax exemption in Alaska;
(4) accepted full-time, permanent employment in another state or country except while on an absence listed
(A) in AS 43.23.008(a)(1) – (3), (9) – (11), or (16); or
(B) in AS 43.23.008(a)(13), if the eligible resident whom the individual accompanies is absent for a reason listed in (A) of this paragraph;
(5) filed a resident or part-year resident income tax return in another state or country and the claim of residency on the return is for any period of time beginning January 1 of the qualifying year through the date of application, unless the individual
(A) was required by the other state or country to file a return claiming resident tax status in that state or country even though the individual was a state resident as defined in AS 43.23.095; or
(B) files in the other state or country an amended return claiming nonresident tax status and provides proof to the department that the amended return was actually filed in the other state or country;
(6) claimed or maintained a claim of a homestead or homeowner’s property tax exemption in another state or country, that required the individual to be a resident of that state or country, unless the individual
(A) files an amended homestead or homeowner’s property tax exemption claim deleting the claim of residency; and
(B) provides evidence from the other state or country that the individual filed an amended homestead or homeowner’s property tax exemption claim deleting the claim of residency;
(7) applied for or received an education loan from another state or country that required an individual to be a resident of that state or country;
(8) disclosed in a court proceeding or affidavit that the individual is a resident of another state or country;
(9) executed a will that described residency in another state or country;
(10) moved from Alaska,
(A) for a reason other than one listed
(i) in AS 43.23.008(a)(1) – (3), (9) – (11), or (16); or
(ii) in AS 43.23.008(a)(13), if the eligible resident whom the individual accompanies is absent for a reason listed in (i) of this subparagraph; and
(B) claiming moving expenses as a deduction on the individual’s federal income tax return, unless the individual
(i) files an amended federal income tax return deleting the claimed moving expenses as a deduction; and
(ii) provides proof from the Internal Revenue Service that the individual filed an amended return;
(11) accepted admission under resident tuition provisions to a college or university in another state or country, unless
(A) there was no difference between resident and nonresident tuition;
(B) nonresident tuition was waived as part of an interstate exchange agreement such as the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) student exchange program or the Washington Wyoming Alaska Montana Idaho (WWAMI) medical education program; or
(C) the individual was granted admission under resident tuition provisions for any other reason that did not require the individual to be a resident of the state or country in which the college or university is located;
(12) registered to vote in another state or country, except if the individual
(A) registered to vote in another state no more than 60 days before a presidential election solely for the purpose of voting in that election and did not vote in any other election in another state other than for president of the United States; or
(B) registered to vote in another country for which the individual was not required to claim residency of the country in order to register to vote;
(13) voted in another state’s or country’s state, country, or local election, except if the individual voted in an election described in this paragraph andthe individual was not required to claim residency in order to vote;
(14) obtained a resident hunting, fishing, or trapping license from another state or country;
(15) filed for divorce, dissolution, or legal separation in another state or country that required the individual to be a resident of that state or country in order to file the action;
(16) repealed 1/1/2010;
(17) obtained any other benefit or benefits as a result of establishing or maintaining any claim of residency in another state or country or by disclaiming Alaska residency, except that the department will not deny a dividend to an individual solely because the individual received Medicaid benefits from another state if the individual’s application for Medicaid was consistent with the intent to maintain residency in Alaska.
(e) Regardless of alienage, a child born outside Alaska to an eligible resident on an allowable absence, adopted by an eligible resident, or whose adoption by an eligible resident is pending during the qualifying year, establishes Alaska residency in the child’s own right immediately upon the child’s arrival in Alaska if the child’s custodial parent or guardian is an eligible resident at the time of the child’s arrival in Alaska.
(f) An individual absent from Alaska as a dependent of an eligible resident who as soon as reasonably possible, as determined by the department, after emancipation does not return to Alaska and establish Alaska residency as an adult is not eligible for a dividend. A newly emancipated individual who was absent from Alaska as a dependent of an eligible resident who returns to Alaska as soon as reasonably possible, as determined by the department, after emancipation and who establishes external indicators of Alaska residency as an individual is not subject to the six month physical presence requirements of 15 AAC 23.163(b).
Is Alaska the lowest tax state?
Alaska had the lowest average overall tax burden – measured as total individual taxes paid divided by total personal income – at 5.4%, followed by Tennessee (6.3%), New Hampshire (6.4%), Wyoming (6.6%) and Florida (6.7%).Apr 11, 2023
Alaska also pays a stipend of over 3 thousand dollars per year to residents for the oil resources sold. This is a lucrative benefit and a reason many people refuse to give up Alaskan residency. Several times this article has mentioned Mr Hozey going back after his contract ends. What is that date exactly?
When is his contract up? Like most things he’s done in town, he changes the rules as he goes along.
Contract renewed until 5/19/2025, puts him over 5 yrs, pension ?
A couple things come to mind when it comes to Mr Hozey’s response.
Do as I say not as I do…just a government employee who is above all of us common folks.
Cape Charles the town where the council caters only to transients not its fulltime residents.
Cheating the town and county out of PP tax on his brand new Ford Super Duty.
Sounds like Mr Hozey is also cheating the state of Alaska. I assume he is getting paid the Alaska’s resident dividend yearly which is $3300.
It must be expensive for him to commute from CC to Alaska 180 days a year to qualify for that dividend.
And the Town Counsel chooses to look the other way!
Who cares? Whether you agree or disagree with his decisions, he is far and away-by a quantum leap- the most professional and competent Town Manager I’ve seen in 20 years in Cape Charles. The operations of the municipal government are on a completely different level since his hire. A town of this size is beyond fortunate to have someone with his experience on staff.
Who cares whether or not he is abiding by the written law of Alaska and being truthful with the people of Cape Charles as to where he actually resides?
Hmmmm, let me think on that for a minute!
The answer I come up with is probably nobody.
Who cares. I can see why Mr, Gammino doesn’t care, he is a non resident of Cape Charles. He is a business owner in C.C., and has had favorable decisions concerning zoning issues with the town and is looking for more. Mr. Hozey should show proof of what he believes is his residency and license plates. I think we deserve a complete Virginia DMV explanation, the state of Virginia tax code, and the federal IRS code, relevant to Mr Hozey’s Statement.
Blasphemous…….”Hozey’s Folly!”
Those of Us who pay the Town of Cape Charles AND the County for the privilege of having our vehicles here care…he’s driving a big new truck…and not paying the Town or County a dime….different rules for him?
Tad Beach ran ‘Farm Use’ tags for years and he sure was no farmer. I called to ask what the county what thought about it and was told that Tad always donated a piece of art to for their auctions. I then asked what that had to do with farming or licence plates….never did get that answer.
What a Hoze job!
Scrapple All You Can Eat Buffet,
I think that you meant to say “What a Hoze(y) job”.
Some people are just getting too big for their britches in this town. Bring back Dora Sullivan. Bring back Sambo Brown. Bring back Watson’s Hardware!
Let us live in peace and harmony. The most recent Love Fest at the park proves that we can exist as one.