Agenda - 11-17-1998 - 9c - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 17, 1998 Action Agenda Item No. R ~ C SUBJECT: Frances Mikles Property Tax Refund Request DEPARTMENT: Assessor's Office PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/N) 1~0 ~:' ATTACHMENT(S): Resolution Tax Refund Requests INFORMATION CONTACT: John Smith, Jr., ext 2101 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider adoption of refund resolution related to 1 request for property tax refund. BACKGROUND: General Statute 105-381(b), "Action of Governing Body" provides that "upon receiving a taxpayer's written statement of defense and request for release or refund, the governing body of the Taxing Unit shall within 90 days after receipt of such a request determine whether the taxpayer has a valid defense to the tax imposed or any part thereof and shall either release or refund that portion of the amount that is determined to be in excess of the correct liability or notify the taxpayer in writing that no release or refund will be made". At the November 4, 1998 meeting, the Board considered a request from Mrs. Frances Mikles to refund a portion of property taxes that she paid for tax years 1993 through 1997. The requested refund totals $759.99. The Assessor's office ascertained that she had been improperly taxed for 288 square feet of heated space, which should have been taxed instead as an unheated carport. This error has been corrected for 1998 and subsequent tax years. The County Attorney advised that the measurement error involved in this case is not a "clerical error" within the meaning of the applicable statute, and that there is not a statutory basis for granting the requested refund. The Board's vote was 2-2 on a motion to grant the refund request by Mrs. Mikles. The Board indicated that it would like to take this issue up again when all Board members will be present at the November 17 meeting. Per the County Attorney's advice, parliamentary procedure requires that one of the Board members who did not vote in favor of the November 4 motion (Commissioners Carey, Crowther, or Gordon) must make a motion to reconsider this item and that motion must be carried in order for the Board to reconsider the tax refund request of Mrs. Mikles. If the Board adopts such a motion, the Board would then conduct a separate vote on the refund request itself.