Wallace School District residents got a surprise in their property tax bills last month – a school bond payment that should have cost the average homeowner about $61 this year instead came out at $183. It was a mistake – the Idaho district had refinanced the 30-year bond that a decade ago built Wallace Junior-Senior High School, where 244 students now attend the 7^th through 12^th grade. That move two years ago was designed to save the local taxpayers money, not cost them more; all told, Superintendent Bob Ranells estimates it’ll save taxpayers $100,000 and also shorten the repayment period.

But as the district transitioned from the old loan to the new one, an error occurred, and the amount the district certified to the county for tax bills for 2014 included both the new payment and the old one, tripling the amount that taxpayers were billed for the year. The actual bond payment that’s due for the year is $187,494; the amount the district certified to the county was $559,610. For the owner of a $150,000 house with a homeowner’s exemption, that’s the difference between $61.39 for the year and $183.22, according to Shoshone County Deputy Auditor Linda Daugherty.

Asked if she’s been hearing a lot about the overbilling, Daugherty said, “Oh, yes.” Under state law, Shoshone County commissioners are the ones who will decide what to do: Re-calculate, re-bill and issue refunds; or do nothing, letting this year’s overpayments hold over to cover future years’ bond payments. Few are backing that option; Ranells said he’s recommending rebilling, even with an estimated $4,000 cost. The county has set a public hearing on the issue for tomorrow; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.