Troy Dispatch overdrawn

The agency that acts as the central hub for emergency calls in Troy collected nearly $1 million more in taxes than it was supposed to during the past 15 years due to what county and district officials are calling a budgetary oversight.

Troy Area Dispatch District levied more mills than taxpayers within its jurisdiction had approved during 12 of the past 15 years, according to public documents obtained by The Western News. The agency surpassed its taxing authority by $320,460 this fiscal year alone when it levied 56.86 mills instead of the 20 mills that voters had authorized.

“This is a combination of errors between the dispatch board, the commissioners and the Clerk and Recorder’s Office,” Lincoln County Clerk Tammy Lauer said. “Apparently, the (dispatch) board did not know it was limited to 20 mills a year.”

Troy Dispatch Board Chairman Gene Rogers alerted The Western News about the excessive taxation on Tuesday. Since then, the newspaper has reviewed numerous public records, crunched the numbers on tax records going back to 1999 and interviewed several county and dispatch officials to determine how much money had been collected in error.

In 2000, voters elected to make Troy Area Dispatch District a 24-hour service and raise the district’s appropriated mills to 20 from the original seven mills that were allotted each year when it was formed in 1996. However, dispatch has never taken 20 mills. In 1999, dispatch went over it’s mill limit by .44 percent, raising excessive taxes of $2,398.17. In 2000, dispatch exceeded its limit by 2.5 mills, raising excessive taxes of $12,132.50.

More mills were levied each year until 2003 when dispatch took 19.8 mills, which was slightly below the authorized limit. The mill level remained at 19.8 until 2006 when dispatch went over it’s limit by 5.25 mills and collected excessive taxes of $31,317.20. The problem continued grow each year.

“It upsets me,” said Ron Downey, the county commissioner from Troy. “How can this happen that long without someone picking up on it?”

Rogers said he plans to reduce the number of mills collected by dispatch next year to reimburse taxpayers within the agency’s jurisdiction. He proposed reducing the taxing level to 10 mills next fiscal year.

“There’s no sense in having money we don’t need,” Rogers said.

Reducing the taxpayer burden by 10 mills would result in a collective savings of $86,940. It was unclear as of press time how many taxpayers reside within Troy Area Dispatch District’s jurisdiction.

Rogers said he assumes the county commissioners will deduct dispatch’s cash on hand from the previous year’s budget when crafting a new budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The district’s fiscal 2012-2013 budget showed cash on hand of $229,021.

“The Troy Area Dispatch District taxpayers paid too much,” Lauer said. “Dispatch should be able to survive three years on this year’s budget. I would take only one mill for the next three years, just to stay on the tax records.”

Lauer said the dramatic increase in mills was the result of a formula on a spreadsheet that tallies the number of mills that should be levied each year based on the number of taxpayers who live within dispatch’s boundaries and changes in property values. While the calculations determining tax revenue were done correctly, nobody noticed that, despite what the spreadsheet says, Troy Area Dispatch District was supposed to levy only 20 mills each year, she said.

“We had no clue it was 20,” Rogers said. “When I looked at it this year, I said, ‘Wait a minute.’”

Rogers, who has been a member of the Troy Area Dispatch Board for more than 10 years, said the board was unaware of the voter-approved limit even during the three-year period when dispatch accepted just under 20 mills.

“I also know there is no way we can operate on 20 mills,” Rogers said. “It takes us about $230,000 to $250,000 to run every year with labor, insurance and upkeep.”

According to county documents, Dispatch’s fiscal 2013-2014 budget was $775,241, about $140,000 more than the fiscal 2012-2013 budget. Of the current budget, more than 40 percent comes from excessive tax revenue.

In 2011, dispatch began a renovation project that is nearing completion. Rogers estimated $100,000 from the overdrawn taxpayer money went toward the project.

In the current budget, $524,891 is attributed to “capital improvements.” Last year’s budget accounts for $401,949 in capital improvements. A total of $180,000 went to wages this year.

“I looked at this and thought, “Oh, shoot,’” Rogers said. “I pay taxes like everyone else.”

One those other taxpayers is Hank La Sala. Sitting down to review his annual tax bill, La Sala noticed something unusual: Of all the public bodies he paid taxes to this year, Troy Area Dispatch District received the second-most mills, behind only the Troy School District.

“That ticked me off,” La Sala said. So he looked into it. “What I found is almost criminal. We need a serious audit.”

Since learning about the oversight, Lauer’s office has started reviewing all county districts for possible taxing restrictions.