Board hears county explanation of duplicate‑parcel tax error; exoneration discussion deferred to future agenda

County tax office staff and a county representative attended to explain a delinquent real‑estate tax bill dating to 2023 that remained in the system because of a duplicate parcel entry in the county tax database.

County staff said the duplicate record caused a lien certification to print the inactive parcel (showing a $0 balance) instead of the active parcel that carried the delinquent $394 balance; as a result, the purchaser at settlement was told there were no back taxes, and the tax was not collected at sale. The county reported that the vendor has taken the inactive duplicate records ‘‘behind the scenes’’ so they no longer print in routine lien searches and that they are working to prevent the condition from recurring.

County staff said the county and the municipality have agreed to forgive their respective shares of the uncollected tax and asked the school board to consider exonerating the school district’s portion. Board members said they would place a request to consider exoneration on a future agenda so the board can vote formally; district representatives noted the amount is small but described the error as not the property owner’s fault.

Board members also discussed legal and procedural limits on recovering the tax from a new owner and emphasized that because the error occurred on the county side it should not be assessed to the current property owner. No vote was taken; staff noted the item was presented for discussion only and can be scheduled for a formal vote at a subsequent meeting.