State Mistake Leads To More Work For County Employees
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
However, the end result could be a savings to county taxpayers.
According to information provided by Sue Ann Mitchell, Kosciusko County treasurer, Tuesday, the Department of Local Government Finance made an error when calculating the tax rate for the Warsaw Community Schools Capital Projects Fund.[[In-content Ad]]The rate was set $0.0495 higher than it should have been, which would result in WCS collecting $1,066,622 more in property tax dollars for their CPF.
Because of the impact on taxpayers, the county auditor and treasurer decided to recalculate and correct the the error made by the DLGF.
Kosciusko County was one of two counties in Indiana that were able to produce timely tax bills.
At the June Warsaw School Board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott told the board the Department of Local Government Finance discovered an error in their calculation of the Warsaw Community School Corp. Capital Projects Fund rate cap. The DLGF contacted WCS and the Kosciusko County auditor and treasurer to discuss timing of when to correct the error.
Mitchell and county auditor Marsha McSherry favored correction of the rate to occur in 2009, which resulted in a revised budget for WCS. After discussion and review with the DLGF field representative, a finalized budget was delivered to WCS June 9.
The budget includes a reduction to the 2009 CPF budget of $200,000; a reduction of prior-year encumbered funds of $966,789; and an increase in transportation of $1,084. The transportation increase is a result of the CPF rate correction, which in turn alters the allocation of excise tax, commercial vehicle excise tax and financial institution tax across all funds.
The total tax rate for pay 2009 will be reduced from $0.9662 to $0.9161.
Scott said McSherry shared a memo with him from the DLGF to Rep. Bill Ruppel, District 22. The memo, in part, states, "In the 2009 Kosciusko County budget, Warsaw Community Schools' CPF tax rate was calculated incorrectly due to a department budget software program error. Warsaw Community Schools' CPF tax rate is $0.0495 too high, which would result in the school collecting $1,066,622 more in property tax dollars for its CPF than it should in 2009."
The rebilling will mean a considerable amount of work for the two government offices, according to Mitchell's information, but the end result will be a savings to taxpayers. The cost to Kosciusko County will be approximately $20,000, but the savings to taxpayers will be more than $1 million in property tax, Mitchell estimates.
In exchange for the added cost to Kosciusko County, through no fault of the county's, the DLGF is willing to provide the Phase II software certification free of charge. The certification would cost the county $7,200, making the actual cost to the county approximately $13,000.
Any taxpayer who pays into the Warsaw School Corp. will receive the corrected tax bills. That includes the taxing units of Clay Township, town of Claypool, Lake Township, town of Silver Lake, Plain Township, town of Leesburg, Warsaw Plain, Prairie Township, Warsaw, Wayne Township and the town of Winona Lake.
The offices of the auditor and treasurer are working on the re-billing and plan to do it as quickly as possible. The bill will correct the amount due for fall.
Mitchell provided an example of what a person can expect their savings to be. If a person has a home assessed at $100,000 without a homestead credit, the person's taxes were overbilled by $49.50. A person with a home assessed at $100,000 with a homestead credit, the person's taxes were overbilled by $17.70.
If a person's assessment was $500,000 without exemptions, the person's taxes were overbilled by $247.50. An assessment of $500,000 with a homestead credit was overbilled $146.40.
If a person already paid the tax for the whole year, they may receive a refund of the amount they paid above what was due after the recalculation. Once the recalculation has occurred, surplus will be identified by the treasurer's office. The person then will receive a letter from the treasurer's office requiring proof of payment per the State Board of Accounts so they can be refunded the overpayment. The letter will be sent as quickly as possible by the treasurer's office.
The person who made the tax payment that can produce the receipt will be entitled to the refund.
Banking facilities will begin to take the tax bills approximately two weeks prior to the tax due date of Nov. 10 if there are no delinquencies. The banking facilities will be aware of the revised tax bill.
If a person paid the spring installment late and a late fee was applied, there will be no adjustments to penalties on the spring bill because the amount of the spring billing will not be changed. If the amount due in the spring was not paid, the penalty will not be adjusted unless there was only one installment due. If there was only a spring payment due because the tax bill was under $25, the penalty amount will be adjusted.
For more information concerning this rebilling process, contact the Kosciusko County Treasurer's Office at 574-372-2370, or visit online at www.kcgov.com to review additional information.
However, the end result could be a savings to county taxpayers.
According to information provided by Sue Ann Mitchell, Kosciusko County treasurer, Tuesday, the Department of Local Government Finance made an error when calculating the tax rate for the Warsaw Community Schools Capital Projects Fund.[[In-content Ad]]The rate was set $0.0495 higher than it should have been, which would result in WCS collecting $1,066,622 more in property tax dollars for their CPF.
Because of the impact on taxpayers, the county auditor and treasurer decided to recalculate and correct the the error made by the DLGF.
Kosciusko County was one of two counties in Indiana that were able to produce timely tax bills.
At the June Warsaw School Board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott told the board the Department of Local Government Finance discovered an error in their calculation of the Warsaw Community School Corp. Capital Projects Fund rate cap. The DLGF contacted WCS and the Kosciusko County auditor and treasurer to discuss timing of when to correct the error.
Mitchell and county auditor Marsha McSherry favored correction of the rate to occur in 2009, which resulted in a revised budget for WCS. After discussion and review with the DLGF field representative, a finalized budget was delivered to WCS June 9.
The budget includes a reduction to the 2009 CPF budget of $200,000; a reduction of prior-year encumbered funds of $966,789; and an increase in transportation of $1,084. The transportation increase is a result of the CPF rate correction, which in turn alters the allocation of excise tax, commercial vehicle excise tax and financial institution tax across all funds.
The total tax rate for pay 2009 will be reduced from $0.9662 to $0.9161.
Scott said McSherry shared a memo with him from the DLGF to Rep. Bill Ruppel, District 22. The memo, in part, states, "In the 2009 Kosciusko County budget, Warsaw Community Schools' CPF tax rate was calculated incorrectly due to a department budget software program error. Warsaw Community Schools' CPF tax rate is $0.0495 too high, which would result in the school collecting $1,066,622 more in property tax dollars for its CPF than it should in 2009."
The rebilling will mean a considerable amount of work for the two government offices, according to Mitchell's information, but the end result will be a savings to taxpayers. The cost to Kosciusko County will be approximately $20,000, but the savings to taxpayers will be more than $1 million in property tax, Mitchell estimates.
In exchange for the added cost to Kosciusko County, through no fault of the county's, the DLGF is willing to provide the Phase II software certification free of charge. The certification would cost the county $7,200, making the actual cost to the county approximately $13,000.
Any taxpayer who pays into the Warsaw School Corp. will receive the corrected tax bills. That includes the taxing units of Clay Township, town of Claypool, Lake Township, town of Silver Lake, Plain Township, town of Leesburg, Warsaw Plain, Prairie Township, Warsaw, Wayne Township and the town of Winona Lake.
The offices of the auditor and treasurer are working on the re-billing and plan to do it as quickly as possible. The bill will correct the amount due for fall.
Mitchell provided an example of what a person can expect their savings to be. If a person has a home assessed at $100,000 without a homestead credit, the person's taxes were overbilled by $49.50. A person with a home assessed at $100,000 with a homestead credit, the person's taxes were overbilled by $17.70.
If a person's assessment was $500,000 without exemptions, the person's taxes were overbilled by $247.50. An assessment of $500,000 with a homestead credit was overbilled $146.40.
If a person already paid the tax for the whole year, they may receive a refund of the amount they paid above what was due after the recalculation. Once the recalculation has occurred, surplus will be identified by the treasurer's office. The person then will receive a letter from the treasurer's office requiring proof of payment per the State Board of Accounts so they can be refunded the overpayment. The letter will be sent as quickly as possible by the treasurer's office.
The person who made the tax payment that can produce the receipt will be entitled to the refund.
Banking facilities will begin to take the tax bills approximately two weeks prior to the tax due date of Nov. 10 if there are no delinquencies. The banking facilities will be aware of the revised tax bill.
If a person paid the spring installment late and a late fee was applied, there will be no adjustments to penalties on the spring bill because the amount of the spring billing will not be changed. If the amount due in the spring was not paid, the penalty will not be adjusted unless there was only one installment due. If there was only a spring payment due because the tax bill was under $25, the penalty amount will be adjusted.
For more information concerning this rebilling process, contact the Kosciusko County Treasurer's Office at 574-372-2370, or visit online at www.kcgov.com to review additional information.
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