Spring property tax bills came with an unwelcome surprise for 254 homeowners in the Blue Valley School District.
A letter sent earlier this month by the county clerk told some residents that, due to an omission in their previous tax statements, they now owe two years’ worth of tax money that should have originally been billed to support the Blue Valley School District.
The amount taxpayers or households will have to pay varies, but the added charge for at least one Overland Park woman topped $2,000.
The county says the taxes should have been included on the impacted residents’ 2023 and 2024 tax statements but weren’t.
The county apologized in a statement online and also in the letter sent to the affected taxpayers, saying the omission was discovered as tax rolls were being certified.
“This was omitted in error, and we apologize for the issue,” the county statement says. “We have completed a thorough review of the process and identified additional opportunities to review and verify the data moving forward.”
What happened exactly?
Each year, Johnson County taxpayers’ property tax bills show levies from several local taxing jurisdictions, including the county itself, the county park and library systems and Johnson County Community College, as well as the municipality and school district in which they reside.
Property taxes to public school districts typically make up the largest chunk of local taxes that Johnson County residents pay.
When itemized on a property tax statement, levies for local school districts are split into taxes that go to the district’s general, unified, bond and capital outlay funds. (Altogether, these taxes comprise the district’s overall mill, or property tax, rate.)
The bills for the impacted Blue Valley taxpayers were missing the amount for the district’s general fund, the county said.
County could offer monthly payment options
For people with mortgages using escrow accounts, the extra amount may be spread out over several payments, and the county’s letter advised recipients to contact their lenders on specifics.
But for people who have paid off their homes or are not using an escrow account, property taxes are usually paid either in one lump sum or in two half payments each year due in December and May.
County spokesperson Andy Hyland said the county clerk’s office will discuss monthly payment options for those affected taxpayers who pay without escrow.
The county release advised residents to call the County Clerk at 913-715-2301 and to visit taxbill.jocogov.org to review current and previous statements.
“It’s not easy and it’s not fun”
Marcy Nemeth of Overland Park said she got her letter for $2,200 owed from the error the day before she got her regular second-half tax bill, which totaled $2,658.
Her family does not pay her mortgage through an escrow account, she said.
Nemeth said she wanted to dispute the latest charge, but has been unable to find the legal grounds to do so.
She said other families she’s talked to have had similar bills in the $2,000 to $3,000 range.
“It’s a lot of money and definitely for some people it will cause a hardship, especially since it came right before the next tax bill,” she said. “It’s not easy and it’s not fun to have to pay an extra $2,200.”
However, since her family is financially able to do so, she plans to pay.
“I don’t mind paying it to the schools,” she said. “I don’t want to short the schools because that’s important. But the whole principle of the thing is ridiculous.”
Nemeth said the county will give her until Oct. 31 to pay the full amount without interest.
The total amount omitted from statements was about $350,000 for each of the two years, representing 0.02% of the roughly $1.7 billion collected in total real estate and personal property taxes, according to the county release.
