50 Homeowners Get Inflated Tax Bills

Some homeowners in east Simi Valley received a surprise on their property tax bills this week when a computer glitch substantially boosted their charges from the Calleguas Municipal Water District. What should have been $5, read $433.55.

Fifty people, most owners of small lots of single-family homes, were charged for 86.75-acre lots because of incorrect charges assessed by the county on behalf of the water district, said Calleguas General Manager Donald Kendall.

The lots all have similar parcel numbers, and charges had been incorrectly recorded, Kendall said. He said the problem is being fixed.

“I’ll assume that we [rather than the county] screwed up,” he said. “We’re working with the county to quickly resolve the matter.”

Calleguas imposes a charge of $5 per home, or uses a per-acre basis for parcels larger than an acre. Money raised through property taxes pays for the district’s capital improvement projects.