Tax Man Giveth Break and Taketh Away

An accounting miscalculation has given tens of thousands of property owners in the Santa Monica, Malibu, Downey and Compton areas a tax break this year.

But it will last only 10 days.

It seems that direct assessment charges that were supposed to appear on tax bills sent to property owners in those four areas were not included because of oversights by local officials.

In the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, blame for the mix-up was placed on district officials who failed to report to the county any changes in the number of taxable parcels in the district. As approved by voters in 1984, each parcel in the district is assessed a fee of $58 above regular taxes.

County Error

County officials said, meanwhile, that they were at fault for not including assessments for lighting in Downey and for trash disposal in Compton on bills mailed to property owners in those two cities.

Mike Galindo, tax division chief of the county auditor-controller’s office, said that by the time the omissions were discovered, about 60,000 tax bills had been sent to property owners. After the discovery, amended bills were mailed giving property owners a 10-day extension, to Dec. 20, to pay their first installment.

All other taxpayers must have their first payments postmarked by Dec. 10 or pay a penalty.

Galindo said the added handling, record-keeping and mailing arising from the mix-up could cost county taxpayers more than $60,000 to correct. The Santa Monica-Malibu district will be expected to reimburse the county for the added costs, while the county itself will have to meet the rebilling expenses in Compton and Downey, he said.

While Galindo’s office was responsible for the Downey and Compton mistakes, Galindo was philosophical about the tendency to err.

In the Cards

“The odds are normally that you’re going to mess someone up every year,” Galindo said. He said the Compton and Downey omissions occurred because of a failure by county auditors to establish a computerized account for the two cities, both of which were charging local residents for the first time on county tax bills.

Galindo added that in the past the various districts that for some reason were not included on the tax bills merely charged double the next year to make up the loss. The problem this time, he said, was that the taxing bodies could not afford to wait for the revenue until next year.

Those property owners who paid their first installments before receiving their amended tax bills will be expected to send in an additional check to cover the omitted portion, Galindo said.