WINDER NEWS RELEASE:
“City of Winder officials want to correct misinformation about the stormwater fees appearing on City residents’ tax bills.
The City learned of a billing error (recently) and has verified that the Barrow County Tax Commissioner acknowledged receipt of timely, accurate data in early August. Unfortunately, this information provided wasn’t used in the production of bills. Therefore, City of Winder property owners should expect to receive a revised bill reflecting the correct stormwater fee in the coming weeks.
As the stormwater fee for Winder residents has not changed since 2022, taxpayers should anticipate their bills to remain the same as last year, which for a typical homeowner is $87 per year.
Mayor Maynard explains, “When these kinds of errors are made, it is important that our residents know that we make every attempt to work collaboratively with our elected officials at the County level. Errors like this are taken seriously by our Council and we are working on solutions to keep anything like this from happening in the future.”
Not an isolated incident, the City has encountered issues with tax bills containing erroneous data in recent years. Previous errors have resulted in the waivers of stormwater fees for certain parcels and applying unlawful exemptions, which have hurt the City taxpayers by reducing the necessary revenues to support City services. In recent years, the City of Winder Mayor and Council have not required the Tax Commissioner to correct former errors nor required residents to pay for those errors. This time is different, and the City of Winder calls for accountability.
Maynard said, “These continued mistakes weaken the public’s trust of our abilities. The statement on the Tax Commissioner’s website is false and we had hoped to spare that office the embarrassment of exposing their mistake. (EDITOR’S NOTE: That statement is pasted below this article.) After publicly blaming the City, it is only right that we stand up for the truth and tell residents that we did not cause the errors in the stormwater fee.
”Mayor and Council recognize the challenges created with the recent incorrect billing statements and are discussing possible solutions, which include terminating the City’s relationship with the Tax Commissioner and bringing the service in house. The City previously funded and is actively recruiting a Tax Administrator role. Adding this role would be the first step to rectify the situation and prevent future inconsistencies for residents.
The Mayor went on to share, “It is my sincere hope that residents will not blame the City for these inconsistencies but understand that we did everything required to supply correct and timely data to the County Tax Commissioner. We send this information in good faith, expecting it to be processed accurately. Sadly, in this instance, that didn’t happen.”
The City of Winder is continuing to work diligently to address the situation. For property owners who may have questions about their stormwater fee, the City asks they reach out by dialing 770-867-3106 or by emailing [email protected] “
BARROW COUNTY TAX COMMISSIONER’S STATEMENT:
“IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CITY OF WINDER PROPERTY TAX BILLS
It has been brought to the attention of the Barrow County Tax Commissioner’s Office that the information provided for City of Winder Storm water Fees was incorrect.
The information used was provided by the City of Winder and entered into the County’s digest and billing. The corrected information has been received and new Property Tax statements with the updated information will be forthcoming to all impacted property owners. City of Winder residents should expect an updated Tax Bill to reflect these changes.
It is always the intention of the Barrow County Tax Commissioner’s Office to provide honest and accurate statements and provide the best possible service to our citizens. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and are working diligently to ensure these situations do not arise in the future. While our office is here to assist you with any billing questions you may have, we do not have specific information about fees from the various governing bodies. Specific questions about fees should be directed to the issuing jurisdiction.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at (770) 307-3106 or [email protected] “