Countywide miscalculation costs taxpayers $2.2 million
<p>Commissioner Tony Berget, left, and Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer.</p>
<p>Former Lincoln County Health Nurse Karol Spas.</p>
<p>Gordon Sullivan</p>
<p>Cookie Haidle of Eureka</p>
<p>L. Harold Blattie, Montana Association of Counties Executive Director.</p>
<p>Former clerk and recorder Coral Cummings.</p>
An accounting error cost taxpayers $2.2 million in Lincoln County during the last three years.
The error was announced during a public hearing Friday in the Ponderosa Room. County commissioners, along with County Clerk and Recorder Tammy Lauer and Executive Director of the Montana Association of Counties Harold Blattie, said the county has miscalculated its countywide mills for years.
“I had been miscalculating a figure that has to do with the monies from the Troy mine,” Lauer said. “The simplest explanation is that I took a number and should have multiplied that number by something else. That resulted in higher mills. This is my mistake, my responsibility.”
This year, the county levied $1.11 million in excess taxes. During the last three years, the total is $2.19 million which accounts for 22 percent of the county’s total tax revenue. While the numbers presented at the meeting were unverified, officials did say they believe the numbers to be close to exact amounts.
“It took me, quite honestly, 30 seconds to find the errors, simply because I have dealt with counties that have gross proceeds,” Blattie said, qualifying his statements with the disclaimer that he is neither an attorney nor certified public accountant. “That real-world experience enabled me to quickly pinpoint the major culprit. I believe this is a beginning of getting their arms around the magnitude of this part of the problem, nothing to do with the voted levies.”
This error has to do with the taxes Revett Minerals pays for the ore produced at the Troy Mine. While Lauer asked several outside sources to verify her numbers, Blattie said he was not surprised the errors were not picked up sooner since few people understand the impact of gross proceeds in county taxation practices.
Commissioner Tony Berget said the impact of the county claiming nearly a quarter of its tax revenue in error would be serious.
“There will be some huge impacts because of these errors,” Berget said. “We have some pretty good reserves, but that does not mean we will not have some major impacts. This is by no means something we will be able to snap our fingers at.”
Lauer took the podium early in the meeting and her remorseful, honest approach set the tone.
“My family will tell you I have been physically sick over this, and probably not that fun to be around,” Lauer said as her voice quivered. “I tried to find a way to go back in time, but I can’t. We’re doing a lot of things in my office to make sure this will not happen again.”
Lauer’s speech was followed by a round of applause by the crowd of more than 85 people.
Commissioners plan to hold another meeting this month in Troy to address the impact of floating mills. In 1999, the county began floating all mills in the county. State law does not address the legality of floating, or adjusting, mills in districts with specific voter approved limits. Libby Park and Recreation, Troy Park and Recreation, Troy Area Dispatch and Eureka Area Dispatch all have voter-approved mill limits that have been exceeded for years.