Battleford's tax notices have gone out, but there may be some that contain incorrect information.
The total amount on the right side is correct, says Battleford's administrator Sheryl Ballendine, but for those who have made a prepayment, the discount rates on the bottom left may be incorrect.
Ballendine told council members at Tuesday's regular meeting, the elimination of the discount to school taxes and prepayments based on the previous year's taxes seem to have skewed some of the calculations of the discounts.
"It was definitely a challenging week last week," said Ballendine. "That's when they all went out and that's when we discovered it." She said they had the calculations redone, but it didn't work. There's not yet a clear reason why.
"I still haven't got an answer from the computer people yet," she said.
However, she and Mayor Derek Mahon assured taxpayers that when they come in to Town Hall to pay their taxes, the correct amount will be calculated there.
The differences aren't usually very large, said Ballendine, usually $10 or $15.
For those who mail their tax payment in, if there is a large amount of difference Town Hall will let them know, since there is a penalty that comes into effect in September. If it's less than $10, they don't charge a penalty, she said.
Taxpayers who end up with credit on their account have the ability to request their money back, less the discount, said Ballendine.
"We can't give back more money than what we received," she said.
If they don't want a refund, they can transfer it to their utilities account, minus the discount, or they can leave it in their account for next year. Many are doing that, she said.
"There are options available. They have to come in or at least phone so we know what they want," said Ballendine.
If they do nothing it will roll into next year's taxes.
"It's up to each individual as to how they choose to deal with it," said Mahon.
