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Commissioners approve refund to homeowner after county identifies erroneous tax refund; county attorney to pursue recovery
Summary
The court authorized immediate payment of a $3,630.76 refund to homeowner David Paul Girth after the county determined a homestead-exemption recalculation had produced an erroneous payment to a later owner; county attorney will explore legal collection options against the payees who cashed the check.
The Liberty County Commissioners Court on Aug. 26 authorized the Tax Office to issue a $3,630.76 refund to property owner David Paul Girth after county staff outlined how a homestead-exemption reinstatement for 2024 produced a refund that had been mailed and cashed by subsequent purchasers.
County Tax Office staff member (Mr. Brown) described the sequence: the county received sale proceeds at closing on March 21, 2025, and later the central appraisal district reinstated the 2024 homestead exemption for a surviving-spouse claim. That recalculation generated a supplemental refund which, by the county’s automated mailing process, was sent to the then-record owner. The mailed refund was cashed. When the Tax Office learned the reimbursement should have been paid to the prior owner, staff attempted registered-mail and phone contact with the recipients and left multiple messages without success.
Tax Office staff asked the court to issue the refund to Mr. Girth now and to allow the county attorney to pursue recovery from the persons who received and cashed the erroneous refund. County Attorney Matthew advised the court that, under his reading, the situation could be treated as an increase in tax liability for the payees and addressed as a collection issue under chapter 26 of the Tax Code; he said he would consult additional counsel (Linebarger or a tax expert at Bickerstaff) if needed.
The court approved issuance of the refund so the entitled owner is not held up while legal research proceeds. Commissioners emphasized the county will continue efforts to recover the funds; staff said the county will add an extra manual review step going forward to reduce the risk of similar automated refunds reaching the wrong payee.
Ending Court-approved immediate payment will resolve the homeowner’s entitlement while the county attorney pursues options to recover the funds from the recipients who cashed the check.
