BAWT (Bills Are Wrong Topic) >> Country Auditor: 80 Percent of Bills Wrong (NY)

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County auditor: 80 percent of bills wrong

By GARY HENDERSON Staff Writer

Spartanburg County Auditor Sarah Broyles says 80 percent of the first 10,000 vehicle tax bills she's checked for January and February were incorrect.

Broyles said another 20,000 bills for the same period still have to be reviewed.

The billing problems were caused by 4,700 erroneous assessment values in the state Department of Revenue's tax guide books.

"Most of the assessments were too high," Broyles said. "But some people are going to be surprised because we've also found values that came in too low. Those (errors) will be corrected, too."

Other auditors in the state report a similar number of mistakes in the renewal notices they've mailed to taxpayers.

Charleston County Auditor Peggy Mosley notified state officials about the problems with assessments late last year.

Yet Mosley said the vehicle assessments were wrong on at least 75 percent of the 60,000 bills her office has sent to taxpayers since December.

The tedious task of going through each January and February tax statement will delay the normal mailing cycles for March and April renewal notices in many of the state's 46 counties, including Spartanburg.

"It will be at least mid-March before we start mailing," Broyles said. "April will be right behind them."

The mailing delays could cause problems for motorists whose license plates expire before they get their bills.

State revenue officials have requested that state troopers not write tickets for the expired tags until department workers are able to finish correcting the mistakes they made.

"State law does not allow us to waive that," said Highway Patrol spokesman Sid Gaulden. "We're still trying to figure out what we can do. It will probably take special legislation that will have to be pushed through. But still, it will require three readings to become law."

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 23, 2000

Answers

Correction on spelling in title...should be *county* NOT country.

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 23, 2000.

Awww shucks. All they have to do is what we do in Texas. Write the bill then stick a little addendum on it saying there's too much work in the legislature to read it and zippo-it goes right on through. Works every time. Wouldn't believe what's slipped past the public on that little trick, but they keep using it. We're very advanced politically in this state, don'cha know?

-- another government hack (keepwatching_2000@yahoo.com), February 23, 2000.

Dee, this appears to be from South Carolina, not NY as per your headline.

Once again, the reporter does not ask WHY the problem with assessments is happening, nor why it is happening *now*: note that "...the vehicle assessments were wrong on at least 75 percent of the 60,000 bills her office has sent to taxpayers since December."

Related to Y2k-induced software replacement??? Who knows? Not any reader of that newspaper, since the reporters there don't know how to be actual "journalists".

Thanks for another interesting post, Dee.

Salud, --Andre in southcentral Pennsylvania

-- Andre Weltman (72320.1066@compuserve.com), February 25, 2000.


Actually, let me add this to my reply: before someone points it out, yes the article does claim something about the assessments being wrong due to "tax books" which really doesn't tell us enough to answer the question, to my satisfaction anyhow.

--Andre in southcentral Pennsylvania

-- Andre Weltman (72320.1066@compuserve.com), February 25, 2000.


Andre,

Thanks for catching that. Yes, it looks like SC. For some reason, a lot of online papers do not put the name of the state or country on their sites. It's like pulling teeth trying to find it. LOL

I have written to dozens of papers telling them that when they go online, they need to remember that more than the "local" area will read it. People from out of state or out of the country stuggle to find out where in the heck the place is. I have received many letters back thanking me for the input. Their site is called Go.upstate, so I filed it in my NY section. Doesn't help that I type a little cockeyed either. Lord knows I need all the help I can get! LOL

Thank you for your comments...they are valid points IMHO. Seems like journalism is not what it used to be. I miss the good old days. Where is Jimmy Olson and Lois Lane when you need them? =)

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 25, 2000.



"I have written to dozens of papers telling them that when they go online, they need to remember that more than the "local" area will read it. "

Dee,

You clearly have alot of patience and fortitude. Unfortunately I bet they mostly ignored your very valid suggestion.

Most people just can't think "outside the box." In this case, the people making content decisions can't imagine that anyone half-way around the world might be reading their local newspaper, I guess.

I have found the fastest way to determine where the newspaper really is, is to click on the "advertising rates" page because there is usually a snail-mail address there for billing purposes. That's what I did for example with the article you kindly posted above (it helped that I already knew there was no Spartanburg County anywhere in NY State).

It's a brave new world...

Cheers, --Andre in southcentral Pennsylvania

-- Andre Weltman (72320.1066@compuserve.com), February 25, 2000.


Thanks for the tip Andre! This will save me time. =)

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 25, 2000.

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