500 Property Owners in L.A. County to Get Corrected Tax Bills : Revenue: Large increases were mistakenly charged to some residents in remote areas to raise money for parks. Another 400 whose levies rose by lesser amounts still must pay.

Los Angeles County will lower taxes by nearly $1 million for some property owners living in remote areas who were incorrectly charged increases ranging from several hundred dollars to $54,000 to raise money for parks, officials announced Tuesday.

New bills will be mailed out by the end of the month to the 500 taxpayers whose bills increased by more than $119 apiece under a new park district assessment that will generate $48 million a year for refurbishment of parks and recreation facilities.

Previously, county officials said the property owners would have to pay the first installment by Dec. 10 or be subject to penalties.

The tax adjustment does not apply to 400 other property owners whose bills increased by $119 or less. They will still have to pay the first installment of their taxes by the Dec. 10 deadline, although their bills may eventually be lowered, said Curt Robertson, administrator of the county’s Regional Park and Open Space District.

“We had to take care of the most egregious errors first,” said Rodney Cooper, director of the county Department of Parks and Recreation. “We don’t see that paying $119 is going to put anyone in the poorhouse.”

The announcement came as a relief to property owners in the Antelope Valley and other outlying areas who complained about the increases.

“You mean I won’t have to send in the money? That’s great,” said Trula Parsons, a retired bookkeeper who lives in a home on 40 acres in the Antelope Valley and was incorrectly billed $884.59--$765.81 too much. “I just couldn’t see paying for their mistake, even if I got the money back later.”

The mistakes, which apply to only a fraction of the 2.25 million parcels of land in the county, occurred because the tax rolls contained incorrect information that led officials to believe that more land was improved than was the case, Robertson said.