September 1st, 2023
A miscalculation made while determining 2023 sales tax credits resulted in undercharges or overcharges of approximately 1.4 cents per $1,000 of valuation, or about $28 for the owner of a $200,000 home. The error will be corrected in 2024 tax bills issued in December.
An inadvertent miscalculation that occurred when determining the sales tax credit reflected on Monroe County property tax bills issued December 31, 2022 caused some property owners to receive too large a credit, while others received too small a credit, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello announced today.
“When you find a problem, you need to fix it - find out what happened, how it happened and take steps to ensure it won’t happen again,” said County Executive Bello. “We are taking immediate steps to ensure taxpayers were not over or undercharged.”
Monroe County distributes sales tax revenue in two ways: as cash payments to local governments and a credit on property tax bills for property owners outside the City of Rochester and villages.
The miscalculation was related to inputting new 2020 Census population figures and came to light after towns contacted the county with concerns that their 2nd quarter cash payments did not match their expectations. Village populations should have been excluded from the calculations, but were not. As a result, bills for a homeowner with a $200,000 home reflected an average overcharge or undercharge of approximately 1.4 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $28 on their 2023 annual bill. The miscalculation will be corrected in 2024 tax bills issued in December. Bills for properties in the City of Rochester and all villages were not affected.
The miscalculation also affected town cash payments made during the first two quarters of 2023. Those discrepancies will be reconciled immediately.
As a result of the miscalculation, the county’s Department of Finance updated its policies and procedures to ensure this will not happen again when population estimates from the 2030 Census are released. Additionally, new policies require the county’s Real Property division to review all calculations with the Controller’s Office before finalizing.
