24-04-2025
Johnson County, Kansas residents ‘outraged' over property tax error
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Johnson County Clerk's Office sent a letter to hundreds of residents, apologizing for an issue on the property taxes.
During the tax roll certification process, the county told FOX4 found that the School General Fund Levy had not been included in statements for properties in the Blue Valley School District.
'During the tax roll certification process, it was determined that for 254 properties in the Blue Valley School District, the School General Fund levy was not included in the original tax statement for tax years 2023 and 2024,' said Andy Hyland, Assistant Director of Public Affairs and Communications for the County Manager's Office, in a statement.
'This was omitted in error, and we apologize for the issue. We have completed a thorough review of the process and identified additional opportunities to review and verify the data.'
Still, residents are frustrated with the lack of organization.
'I just feel outraged that they cannot get it together to figure out they didn't charge this money in the first place,' resident Marcy Nemeth said.
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Nemeth has lived in the county for 25 years and pays her property taxes every six months. When she checked her December statement, it didn't include the School General Fund.
This week, she got the letter that shows she now owes $1,100 in taxes for 2023, and more than $1,000 for 2024. That's all on top of $5,300 in annual property taxes.
The letter says the payment is due on June 3.
'How do you expect us to pay $2,200 in one month or two months?' Neel Seshan asked.
Seshan claims he got the same letter yesterday, which says he owes around $2,200.
'It's going to be a big burden for me right now,' he said.
The county said the money adds up to around $350,000 for each of the two years. It represents about 0.2% of the $1.7 billion collected in real estate and personal property taxes countywide.
Still, Nemeth says she plans to dispute it.
'I don't think it's right,' she said.
'Don't mind paying taxes, I paid what they sent me. They sent me a bill, I paid the bill, but when they sent me this stuff from two years ago, I don't think it's fair.'
The Blue Valley School District said the error won't impact the budget. The district's general fund is fully funded by the state through a formula, so the state used other tax revenue to make up the difference.
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