Wrong property tax bills go out for some in county
Published 10:04 am Wednesday, June 29, 2011
For some county property taxpayers looking at their recent tax bill seemed like déjà vu.
That’s because all those who own manufactured or mobile homes got their first half tax bill for a second time instead of the second half notice they should have received this month.
“There was a computer processing error and it reflects the entire taxes,” County Treasurer Stephen Burcham said. “That doesn’t reflect payment for the first half.”
First half tax bills, which went out in February, always state the taxes for the entire year. All property owners, whether they own real estate or mobile homes, have the option of paying the first half or the entire year at that time.
Those bills were due Feb. 25 and the first half tax collection brought in $15.5 million to the county.
“Manufactured homes are exactly one half each time,” Burcham said. That’s because they are not charged a solid waste assessment. That $12 a year is only assessed to property owners on their land bill who have a residence or business.
There are 4,998 mobile homes in the county out of 55,000 parcels and make up six percent of the taxes collected.
Right now Burcham is uncertain about how the error happened. The county treasurer’s office prints out the tax bills from the software program provided by an outside company.
“We’re not sure if the error came from processing or something we didn’t tell them correctly,” he said.
Taxpayers who received the wrong bills have options. They can contact the treasurer’s office for the correct tax amount or if they know what they paid for the first half, they can deduct that amount from these bills.
“If anybody does overpay, they will get a refund or get credit toward next year’s taxes,” Burcham said. “If anybody would like a corrected bill, we would be glad to send them a corrected bill.”
Or if they pay their taxes at the treasurer’s office, they can request a new bill at that time.
Second half bills went out June 14 and are due July 15.