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Software Error Yields False Tax Delinquencies

By Luis Monteagudo Jr. UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER June 17, 2000

SAN DIEGO -- Charles Hayman thought he was doing the right thing when he paid his property tax bill in March, a month before it was due.

But nearly three months later, the San Carlos homeowner got a notice from the county that he was delinquent on his taxes.

He was not the only one to end up in that predicament.

A new voice-recognition software program that the county tax collector installed in December malfunctioned, and at least 123 taxpayers have been labeled delinquent even though they paid on time.

"It did cause a problem," said Chief Deputy Treasurer Neil Rossi. "We know there is a problem."

Rossi said officials are eliminating the incorrect delinquency notices in the computer system and expect to have the system fixed by the end of the month.

But the problems have been another source of frustration for the tax collectors. In April, the office's Web site, which also can accept payments, crashed as a result of heavy use. It took several days to fix the site.

The latest glitch stems from efforts to prevent problems.

Last winter, officials learned that the system taxpayers use to call in and pay their bills with a credit card was not Y2K-compliant. They ordered a $140,000 replacement system that was installed in December.

The system seemed to work fine. But because officials rushed to beat the feared millennium bug, they did not have a chance to test it fully, Rossi said.

The problems surfaced when the system started getting a heavy volume of calls near the April tax deadline, Rossi said.

The system accurately recorded that taxpayers had called and paid their bill using a credit card. But that information was not transferred to the appropriate computer file, prompting an indication that the property owners had not paid.

Taxpayers can use Visa or Discovery credit cards to pay by phone. There is a separate system for each card, and the problem has occurred with Discovery cards.

Hayman said he did not know about the problem until he got a notice from the county that he was delinquent on his $1,300 tax bill and had to pay it plus a $150 penalty.

"It makes me angry to think I find myself being behind the eight ball," said Hayman, 63, a pharmacist.

Hayman went to the County Administration Center in downtown San Diego and got the problem corrected. He remained upset, however, because county tax rolls then showed he paid his bill June 8, after the deadline.

To make matters worse, Hayman got a letter from his mortgage company saying it had audited the tax rolls and found out he was delinquent.

After learning of Hayman's problem from a reporter, Rossi personally intervened and provided Hayman a signed letter saying he had paid his tax bill on time.

Rossi said his office can provide a printed and stamped document confirming bills were paid on time for people who find themselves in a situation like Hayman's. Taxpayers, however, have to visit the County Administration Center to request it.

Hayman is glad his problem was finally corrected, but is not happy about what it took to get everything solved.

"My credit standing could've been besmirched by this happening," he said.

Rossi apologized in his letter to Hayman.

"We sympathize with him and we're correcting it," he added in an interview.

About 5,000 people use the system at each of the two annual payment deadlines.

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20000617-0010_3m17taxes.html

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), June 17, 2000