Alton board authorizes town clerk to correct 2022–2023 tax-lien interest coding

The Alton Town Board of Selectmen on Sept. 9 authorized the town clerk and tax collector to correct a software coding error that led some taxpayers to be charged an outdated tax-lien interest rate for 2022 and 2023. Town Clerk and Tax Collector Jen told the board the mistake stemmed from the town's migration to new financial software and that state law changed the lien interest rate in 2019.

Jen explained the software had two codes, “tax l” and “tax l 14,” and invoices for certain outstanding 2022 and 2023 liens were posted at 18% instead of the correct 14%. “With your consensus and permission to move forward, I will adjust those. . . . It's not a lot of money, but it is still due to the taxpayers,” Jen said.

The board voted by voice to permit the clerk to reverse affected payments, create credit balances where appropriate and reapply payments at the corrected rate; Jen said she will consult legal counsel if refunds become necessary when a property-owner change is discovered. A selectman noted the adjustments would not change the interest that accrues from the tax bill due date to lien date, which the clerk said remains governed by the separate 8% lien-date rule.

The clerk told the board the software company had helped identify affected invoices and that she had hand-checked calculations. The board asked whether taxpayers should be notified; Jen said they could generate a letter but that most affected payers would simply see lower outstanding balances when their next payment is applied.

Outcome: The board approved a motion to allow the town clerk/tax collector to reverse and reprocess affected tax-lien payments for tax years 2022 and 2023 to correct the interest-rate coding.

The action responds to an administrative error and does not change statutory lien deadlines or the town's standing legal obligations.