JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A missed email almost cost Jefferson County special districts more than half a million dollars. Instead, thousands of taxpayers are now being asked to pay for the mistake.
This error started when someone in the budget and finance department missed an email. That missed message left four special districts off of thousands of property tax bills, meaning people actually owed more money than they were told to pay.
"On your property tax bill, these are your special districts that provide services to your neighborhood and to your area," county treasurer Jerry DiTullio said. "The special district is your fire, your water, your sewer, your school district."
Four water and sanitation districts headquartered in Lakewood were missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money because of the error. Now, about 6,500 households are getting an apology letter in the mail saying, sorry, but we need some more of your money.
"On behalf of the Jefferson County budget staff, please accept my sincere apologies for this error and any difficulties this may cause you," the letter from Daniel Conway, Director of Strategy and Budget for Jefferson County, said. "Rest assured, the root cause of this error has been isolated and additional quality control measures are already being put in place to avoid similar occurrences in the future."
The printers in Jefferson County are now working overtime as the letters of apology hit the mail.
"It’s been a comedy of unfortunate errors," DiTullio said.
DiTullio said this year has been unlike any he's ever been a part of during his time as a treasurer. The special session the legislature held last year allowed special districts the ability to change their mill levies to help lower property taxes. That made everything confusing.
While DiTullio's office wasn't responsible for the error, his office is now charged with asking around 6,500 households to pay even more money on their property tax bills.
"The average has been about $100 per property tax bill," DiTullio said. "It’s been confusing and frustrating for taxpayers."
Jefferson County is now creating an online system for the special districts to submit mill levies to the county. Until then, they’re telling districts that if the county doesn't confirm they've received their emails, the districts should follow up.
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