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Residents ask DeKalb County to restore Shiffley Cemetery after tax‑sale confusion
Summary
Former township trustees and Tom Miller urged commissioners to help return an abandoned 1‑acre Shiffley Cemetery to Smithfield Township after a tax‑sale redemption and title‑search questions; county officials outlined the statutory redemption process and said the township trustee plans to redeem the parcel.
A former Smithfield Township trustee and Tom Miller, who identified himself at the microphone, asked DeKalb County Commissioners to help restore and legally return the one‑acre Shiffley Cemetery to the township.
Miller, who said relatives are buried there, said the cemetery has been unmaintained for roughly 50 years and that a recent tax‑sale transfer complicated custody. He said he has retained counsel and a title search that, in his view, supports eventual transfer back to the township. “The county has the ability to redeem that property and give it back to the township where it should,” Miller said.
County staff explained the county’s legal options: if the township redeems the tax sale, the county reimburses the buyer’s bid and any interest, returning the parcel to an interim status until it can be conveyed legally to the township. A county official described the process and said the Smithfield Township trustee intends to redeem the parcel; staff also noted the county maintains a list of abandoned cemeteries to help prevent similar issues in the future.
Commissioners asked Miller and his legal team to provide documentation and said staff would assist with statutory steps so the transfer can proceed legally. No final transfer was completed at the meeting; the county said it will coordinate with the township trustee and the county historian to ensure steps comply with state law.
