Transposed numbers resulted in underpayment of 13 cents per $1,000

    Town of Belgium residents may be issued new tax bills to correct an error by Clerk Ginger Murphy when she transposed the technical college tax levies.

    That resulted in taxpayers in the Milwaukee Area Technical College district paying approximately 13 cents per $1,000 valuation less than they should have, and Lakeshore Technical College taxpayers paying 11 cents per $1,000 valuation more than they should have.

    That amounts to $22 to $26 for a house assessed at $200,000.

    “I feel awful,” Murphy said. “I noticed when I received the January settlement statement from (Ozaukee County Treasurer) Karen Makoutz that LTC’s levy was higher than MATC’s. That’s never been the case, so I looked at the mill rate worksheet I submitted to the county and found out I transposed the two numbers.

    “There will be enough taxes collected, just not from the right tech school district.”

    The discrepancy, she said, is $17,534.        “I will propose that the board approve reissuing tax bills. I believe it is the only way to correct the error,” Murphy said.

    To reissue the tax bills will cost between $4,000 and $5,000 according to a proposal from Transcendent, the software company the county is working with to take over the tax program.

    Murphy also proposed adopting an ordinance which would allow the town to retain a refund or waive collection of an amount that is $2 or less.

    She said underpayments of less than $2 were made by 80 taxpayers totaling $9.

    The tax bill issue will be discussed by the Town Board at its 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, meeting.

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