A human error made in the La Plata County Finance Department meant that property owners in the Ignacio School District were incorrectly charged too low a rate last year, shorting the Ignacio School District $781,000 this year. That includes $80,000 in specific ownership taxes, which are levied on vehicles.
The mistake was first noticed by the district’s auditor, Tim Mayberry, who brought it to the attention of La Plata County Assessor Carrie Woodson in early September. Adam Rogers, the director of finance for the county, brought the issue before county commissioners during board discussion time on Oct. 5.
Ignacio School District Superintendent Chris deKay said there was “no impact to the students or staff,” thanks to savvy financial planning in previous years.
The county will collect the revenue in next year’s taxes.
It will take an increase of 0.29 mills – meaning 29 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value – to recoup the uncollected revenue. Homes assessed at $250,000 can expect approximately an extra $50 tacked onto their property taxes next year; homes assessed at $400,000 will pay about $82.
The county was nothing less than forthcoming and apologetic about the mistake, deKay said.
“When we make a mistake, we talk about it, we shine a light on it and then we fix it,” County Manager Chuck Stevens said in board discussion time on Wednesday.
The mistake occurred when someone in the finance department entered last year’s mill levy into the system. It passed through two more county departments unnoticed before the paperwork was sent to the state.
In the Oct. 5 meeting, Rogers told the commissioners he expected the brunt of uncollected tax would fall on the oil and gas industry. The increase will go before the board on Dec. 19 and mailers will be sent to affected households the next day.
“Mistakes happen and we’re human and three sets of eyes were looking at it and nobody caught it and thank you for being here today,” Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton told the county employees who brought the mistake to the board’s attention.
Upon receiving notice, commissioners pivoted quickly to discussion of how best to inform the public in a transparent manner and how to ease any burden that an unexpected addition to tax bills could foist upon residents of the Ignacio School District.
Ultimately, they decided the best solution was simply to recoup the money next year. That means for anyone who sold or purchased property last year, the former party avoided the tax while the latter must pay the heightened rate.
“We really respect the fact that when we contacted the county, that they owned the mistake,” deKay said. “We’ve been working very hard with them to make sure that we can rectify that without any impact to the school district or the students, and we have been able to do that.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
