Agenda - 01-23-2018 8-e - Property Tax Refund Request – 107 Boulder Lane, Chapel Hill

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