MARIETTA - The Cobb Tax Commissioner's office has set a deadline of July 26 for Bill Borden and his wife, Brenda, to title and register all of their vehicles in Cobb by July 26 - or the county will file a tax lien in Superior Court.

The Journal also learned that the county's business licensing department has the authority to seek back license fees for up to three years.

Borden, a Republican who is running for a seat on the Cobb School Board, acknowledged this week that he operated a business, Real Estate Central Inc., out of his home without a business license for about 15 years, before re-locating it in the city of Kennesaw in early July. On July 2, Real Estate Central, a sales agency, received a business license issued by the city of Kennesaw.

Borden drives a Ford pickup that is registered in the state of Alaska, where he completed the Iditarod sled-dog race in 2002. He and his wife also drive a Toyota SUV here that is registered in Alaska.

"The Tax Commissioner has corresponded with Mr. and Mrs. Borden and advised them of the taxes and penalties due on their vehicles, one for the period 2004-10 and the other for the period 2004-09," said Stewart Manley, director of tag/title operations.

The Bordens receive the homestead exemption on their home in unincorporated Cobb. That exemption is only available on an individual's primary residence, and Bill Borden has said they have owned and lived in the house for 17 years.

On June 30, the tax office sent a first letter to the Bordens regarding the car tags and threatening to cancel the couple's homestead exemption "if the matter is not resolved promptly."

Manley said his office next sent a letter to the Bordens on July 7 spelling out the amounts due for the two vehicles. Fees for one vehicle go back six years, and seven years on the other. A third letter, dated July 14, corrected a dollar amount stated in the July 7 letter, Manley said.

Borden did not immediately return requests for comment that were made around noon on Friday. During an interview with the Journal on Tuesday, he said both vehicles were still registered in Alaska.

"I would love to register one of them here, but we're still working on that," he said. "My cars are licensed legally. My cars are insured legally."

Regarding Real Estate Central Inc., Borden told the Journal: "It was a home-based business that I missed having a business license, I made the mistake of not having a business license. I remedied as soon as I realized it," and that he realized it when the Journal asked him about it.

AikWah Leow, a spokeswoman for Cobb County Government, said that she could not speak specifically about Borden's situation, but in general, "if we know that somebody owes us back business license fees, we usually file a lien against the business."

Despite the controversies, Borden still has the support of Mayors Mark Mathews of Kennesaw and Tommy Allegood of Acworth, who are chairing Borden's campaign.

Allegood said he had last discussed the tag issue with Borden a few weeks ago.

"Until the MDJ began to publish the articles about the tag, I don't think anybody thought about the tag. I didn't. I asked him what was the deal, and he said he was going to square everything up," Allegood said. "I don't know the law [on vehicle registration]. I'm not that close to things. I know my vehicles are titled and tagged correctly, and when they send me the thing, I mail in a check."

"I would expect him to do what they're asking him to do," Allegood said of the county's deadline for Borden to pay up. "I would have every reason to believe he would comply."

Mathews said his understanding is that Borden's truck is an asset of a company Borden has in Alaska.

"I don't believe there's a requirement for a company vehicle," to be registered in Georgia, Mathews said. "There are out-of-state cars everywhere that are company cars and they stay here for extended periods of time."

But when asked in a July 1 interview with the Journal about the truck, Borden said the truck was his, and that he bought it in 2002.

"I own it," he said of the truck, adding that he had not yet decided whether he would register it in Georgia.

Borden has not been cited by police for the tag, and the mayors insisted Borden is not receiving special treatment from police in their cities.

Mathews said, "Is he getting special treatment from the MDJ? Yes. From the city of Kennesaw? Absolutely not."

As for Acworth, Allegood said: "Nobody's given him special treatment, certainly not Acworth police department. I don't get involved in police matters. The police department is run by the chief of police."

Bruce Jenkins, a Kennesaw City Councilman who is treasurer of Borden's campaign, appears in a YouTube video promoting the campaign. He, too, continues to support Borden.

"Mr. Borden has assured me and his campaign that the situation with his tags are in continued discussion and he will abide by the decision he is given by Georgia's Tag Office, and I feel assured and confident he will handle this to their satisfaction," Jenkins wrote via e-mail to the Journal.