East Penn SD board approves limited exception after bill-pay misrouting delays tax credits

The East Penn School District Board of School Directors approved a resolution to give a narrow credit to taxpayers whose school real-estate tax payments were misrouted by third-party bill-pay services.

Solicitor Fisher told the board that Pennsylvania law generally holds taxpayers responsible for timely payment even if they do not receive a bill, but that a limited exception is appropriate when a mistake occurs through no fault of the taxpayer, the tax collector, the municipality or the district. "The mistake occurred through no fault of the taxpayer," Fisher said, describing payments sent by bill-pay services — identified in the presentation as Wells Fargo bill pay and possibly other institutions — that were routed to municipal bank accounts instead of to the tax collector.

The resolution allows the district to treat those misrouted payments as if they were received in the discount period, provided the taxpayers meet the requirements set out in the board resolution. Fisher said municipalities opened refund processes when the misrouting was discovered; the refunds can take up to five weeks. That timing, Fisher said, could prevent some taxpayers from making a second payment to the tax collector before the district's discount deadline (which Fisher said expired on Aug. 31) or before the base period deadline (which he said expires Oct. 31).

The board's action exonerates the tax collector from collecting additional funds in those specific circumstances and applies only under the limited conditions named in the resolution. The motion text before the board authorized the district to grant the discount-period benefit to affected taxpayers in accordance with the resolution's criteria.

The board approved the resolution on a roll-call vote. The meeting record shows the following votes as "Aye": Mister Jankajowski; Mister Kelly; Miss Klotz; Mister Smith; Doctor Whitney; Bowman; Mister Filigi; Miss Desport; Doctor Latson. The tally recorded in the meeting was nine ayes and the motion carried.

The board did not record a named mover or seconder for the motion in the meeting minutes; the solicitor's presentation supplied the factual basis for the board's limited exception. The board chair characterized the action as a straightforward accommodation to help taxpayers harmed by circumstances beyond their control.

The board did not adopt broader changes to billing policy at the meeting; the resolution was narrowly framed to address the specific misrouting event and its timing-related consequences.

Notes: The solicitor referenced Pennsylvania law as the baseline rule that ordinarily places the payment responsibility on the taxpayer; the resolution creates a narrowly defined exception tied to the misrouting by bill-pay services and to refund timelines handled by municipalities.