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Council reviews report that 11 parcels were added to Newport tax rolls; city halts collection pending review
Summary
City staff told the council that 11 parcels had been added to the city's tax rolls following assessor and state records; staff instructed collection be put on hold while the city researches annexation and boundary records.
A city staff member told the Newport City Council that the property assessor’s records showed 11 parcels that may belong on the city tax rolls but for which the city has conflicting records. “There were 11 parcels of property in this that were around the city that were not on that were supposed to be on the city's tax rolls and were not,” the staff member said.
Staff said the assessor’s office added the parcels to the tax rolls after receiving a state notification and that the city did not add them directly. The staff member said the city is reviewing annexation books and council minutes dating back to 1995 to determine whether the parcels were properly annexed into the city.
The staff member told the council that some property owners have received bills and are upset. He said staff has instructed the treasury staff to put any payments on hold while the city completes its review and that the city will refund any citizen who paid if the review shows they were incorrectly billed. “If we find out that she was unfairly taxed, we will absolutely refund her money,” the staff member said.
Council members asked for updates and staff said resolving the issue could take weeks because the review requires pulling historical annexation records and waiting on responses from state and regional agencies.
