DWP Missed 2 More Payments, Faces New Fines : Government: Mistakes delayed mailing of property taxes to San Bernardino and Kern counties.

Following revelations that a late property tax payment to Inyo County could cost the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power $330,000 in penalties, the agency Monday said it was also late with payments to San Bernardino and Kern counties.

The latest property tax payment goofs will ring up between $5,000 and $10,000 in additional penalties, bringing the total bill for the postage fouil-up to about $339,000, said DWP General Manager Dan Waters.

Waters said an investigation is under way to determine how the nearly $4 million in tax payments got sidetracked and how such errors can be avoided. But this much is known: All three late payments could have been avoided for less than $10 in additional postage.

Waters said it was a chain of errors by at least four employees that led to the payments being mailed after the April 10 deadline. “We make 53 different property tax payments in 19 counties in five states,” said Waters. Until last week, the department had never missed a payment.

In his first public statement since the errors were revealed during the weekend, Waters said the DWP is researching tax law to determine if there are grounds for appealing or escaping the late-payment penalties. The DWP may also attempt to negotiate with Inyo County to have the penalties spent on projects in which the DWP has an interest.

Inyo County officials said that although they are willing to listen to any ideas the DWP has to offer, they have plenty of ideas for how the windfall could be spent.

Like most counties, Inyo County is facing a budget crunch this year, with departments facing cuts of 5% to 10% in their budgets. The $330,000 penalty being assessed the DWP represents about 1% of the $32-million county budget, said John Treacy, Inyo County treasurer and tax collector.

Inyo County Administrator C. Brent Wallace said the decision on how the newfound money will be spent is up to the Board of Supervisors, but spending the funds on DWP projects “would not be the (county) staff recommendation.”

Under state law, if a property tax payment is postmarked after April 10, the tax collector must levy a 10% penalty, plus $10 per parcel of land. The DWP owns 1,135 parcels in Inyo County--more than two-thirds of the taxable land.

Although the penalty may be appealed, Treacy said he will not budge unless the DWP can prove that the payment was late because of circumstances beyond the agency’s control.

Waters said it has been determined that an accounting employee, a mail clerk, a messenger and a supervisor all made errors in handling the payment. Waters said the problem appeared to originate in the accounting department, where certain forms were filled out incorrectly. Then the mail room erred in determining the amount of postage due on the three payments. When the messenger returned the envelopes to the DWP for additional postage, they sat for four days before being discovered and finally mailed. The supervisor’s role in the matter was not clear.

Still, the department is expected to feel more political fallout. Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores has called for a special hearing Friday to question DWP management on the episode. And on Monday, Mayor Tom Bradley added his voice to the angry chorus.

“I was shocked when I read that news,” Bradley said. “I expect that department to get all the facts and take the appropriate disciplinary action.”