Whitman Assessor's Office Billing Errors Raise Concerns
Select Board requests joint meeting with Board of Assessors
WHITMAN - January 7 - Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter reported multiple billing issues from the Assessor's Office, including an erroneous $16 million overcharge on real estate bills, prompting the Select Board to call for a joint meeting with the Board of Assessors.
During the recent Select Board meeting, Carter detailed several concerning billing errors that have occurred over the past year and a half. The most alarming of these was a $16,124,289.21 overcharge on the Fiscal 2025 Third and Fourth Quarter Actual Real Estate Bills.
"If the real estate bills had been sent out as originally billed, the taxpayers would have been billed for basically a total of six quarters instead of the usual four quarters in Fiscal 2025," Carter explained.
Additionally, the Fiscal 2025 Real Estate Bill lien file was found to be $750,508.24 less than what should have been billed to taxpayers. These errors were caught by the new temporary Treasurer-Collector before the bills were sent to taxpayers.
The Town Administrator expressed concern about the magnitude of these errors, noting that the current Board of Assessors has approximately 21 years of combined experience.
Other issues highlighted included incorrect square footage on Fiscal 2025 Actual Real Estate Tax Bills, delayed signing of warrants to collect for Fiscal 2024 Actual Real Estate Bill liens, and problems with boat excise tax billing.
In response to these concerns, the Select Board voted to schedule a joint meeting with the Board of Assessors in February to discuss the numerous billing issues.
"I feel that it's imperative that the Select Board and the Board of Assessors meet in open session to discuss the numerous issues that have come to light regarding billing issues, as the enormity of the issues has escalated over the past year and a half," Carter stated.
In more positive financial news, the Town Administrator reported a significant cost reduction for the sewer force main project. The final bonding amount has been reduced to $6,972,821, down from the initial estimate of $12,971,950.
This reduction is attributed to several factors, including the application of $2.2 million in Plymouth County ARPA funds, Clean Water Trust loan forgiveness, and the project coming in under budget.
"So some good news there," Carter noted, highlighting the substantial savings for the ratepayers.
The bond date for the sewer force main project is set for Feb. 6, 2025, with the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust.
In other business, the Select Board:
- Approved toll booth fundraisers for several local organizations, including the Whitman Baseball Softball Association and the American Legion.
- Appointed Erica Adams as temporary assistant Treasurer-Collector, pending executive session approval.
- Appointed Angela Chandler as a consultant to the Treasurer-Collector's office, funded by ARPA money.
- Discussed the potential for a town override, with Select Board member Shawn Kain suggesting a one-year override focused on maintaining current services rather than adding new ones.
"I think if we're going to ask people to sacrifice for the town, it's very important that we demonstrate the sacrifices that we're making," Kain said.
The Select Board plans to continue budget discussions at their next meeting on Jan. 21, which will include a joint session with the Finance Committee.
Disclosure: South Shore News founder Justin Evans is a current member of the Whitman Select Board.