Tax issues slow process condemning Dodge Co. home

DODGE COUNTY -- A Dodge County mother accused of keeping her young children in a home under disgusting conditions appeared in court Monday morning.



Sheriff's deputies say 25-year-old Secoy Koch-Miller kept her two-year-old and two-month-old children inside of a home was filled with rotten food, animal feces and a septic tank backed up so badly the toilets couldn't flush.  She faces nearly seven years in prison if convicted of child neglect.

As Koch-Miller appeared in court, the Town of Burnett learned some bad news.



\"It's a headache,\" Town Supervisor Jerry Beier said.  \"A very big headache.\"



Beier wants to tear down the home filled with animal droppings, black mold and without hot water.



\"The power has been turned off in the house and in effect, on all parts of that property,\" Beier said.  \"They took the meters off  the house also.\"



Beier calls the house \"unlivable\" and is working to have it condemned, but can't yet. The town clerk  discovered the owner owes about $4,500 in back taxes -- having not paid a dime since 2010. 



There's also a second mortgage on the home.  Beier says the town can't do anything until those issues are resolved.



\"We have to get a hold of everybody that's involved now that there's a second mortgage on it to see what they got to  say about it,\" Beier said.



Back in court, the judge released Koch-Miller on bond, but she cannot see her children without supervision.



The two-year-old weighed just 20 pounds at the time and had spiders and spider eggs in his hair.  Now in foster care, the children are doing better.



\"As long as those children are in a proper home and not where they were at, that was my biggest concern,\" Beier said.



Town supervisors will meet Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to discuss how they can resolve those finances in order to tear down the home.  Koch-Miller is due back in court for her preliminary hearing May 1st.