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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ORANGE COUNTY TAX ADMINISTRATION <br />228 S CHURTON STREET, SUITE 200, PO BOX 8181 <br />HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278 <br />Telephone (919) 245-2725 Fax (919) 644-3332 <br />T. Dwane Brinson, Director <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Memorandum <br /> <br />To: Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />Cc: Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager <br /> John Roberts, County Attorney <br />From: Dwane Brinson, Tax Administrator <br />Date: January 5, 2018 <br />Re: Property Tax Refund – 107 Boulder Lane, Chapel Hill <br /> <br />On September 5, 2017 Mr. Tom ODwyer, Power of Attorney for Ms. Doris Tippens, addressed <br />the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). Mr. ODwyer requested that the BOCC provide <br />full restitution by approving a refund of property taxes for tax years 2006-2016. During this <br />period of time the property at 107 Boulder Lane, Chapel Hill was assessed with an inaccurate <br />square footage due to a transcription error of an exterior measurement. This memorandum <br />provides the BOCC with summary case details as well as a refund analysis. <br /> <br />Clerical Error <br />North Carolina General Statute 105-381 provides that a refund may be issued for any of three <br />reasons: (1) a tax imposed through clerical error, (2) an illegal tax and (3) a tax levied for an <br />illegal purpose. Case notes supplement the statute and provide additional details as to what may <br />fall into each of the three categories. The property at 107 Boulder Lane had an exterior <br />measurement that appears to have been transcribed incorrectly: a wall length of 28 feet instead of <br />20 feet was recorded. This resulted in an inaccurate square footage calculation of 1,784 instead <br />of the 1,336 correct square footage calculation. Transcription errors qualify as a clerical error. <br />As such, a refund of up to five years may be approved. <br /> <br />2