Kira Erickson reports from Langley for the South Whidbey Record. Read the whole story.
Due to an error in the bond levy rate for the Langley Infrastructure Project, homeowners will see a higher number than expected on their property tax statements.
Langley Mayor Kennedy Horstman issued an announcement this week about the miscalculation, which was discovered by a property owner.
The amount people should be paying for the bond levy is 36 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, but because of the mistake, it comes out to $1.03 per $1,000.
They Said It
Finance Director Kelly Beech said she incorrectly wrote in the property tax number instead of the bond levy rate when filling out the form certifying the levy for the Island County Assessor’s Office. Unfortunately, the deadline to make a change was Jan. 15, and the error wasn’t discovered and the county notified until Jan. 27.
Though the hope is to reimburse property owners, who were charged an additional 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, Beech is unsure if this is possible, or what the process will look like. She estimated that the mistake affects under 1,000 properties within Langley.
“Our aim is to address the issue as soon as possible to mitigate impact to Langley residents,” the mayor wrote in her announcement to citizens. “If allowed our intent is to issue refunds. However, there are legal issues and possible restrictions that we need to understand before we take action.”
