Woman wants taxes back
Cindy Leise | The Chronicle-Telegram
ELYRIA — An Eaton Township woman picketed outside the county Administration Building on Monday, demanding that county Auditor Mark Stewart return about $1,300 in property taxes she overpaid in February.
 |
| CINDY LEISE / CHRONICLE |
| Kristen Pascoe of Eaton Township pickets at the Lorain County Administration Building. She is seeking the return of $1,300 in overpaid taxes. |
Stewart said he sympathizes with Kristen Pascoe but has no way of returning the money.
The checks have already have been cashed, divided up and forwarded to Midview Schools and other entities, he said.
“It’s collected, done and gone,” Stewart said.
He said many people choose to pay an entire year’s property taxes all at once instead of just the first half of their bill by the Feb. 15 deadline.
If a taxpayer sends in extra money, Stewart said, the county applies it to the amount still owed for that tax year.
If taxpayers overpay their total tax bill for the year, the county will issue a refund, Stewart said.
In Pascoe’s case, Stewart said, the money was applied the taxes she would have had to pay in the second half of the year. Pascoe has paid off her taxes for the year, he said.
County workers who deposited funds from the two checks had no way of knowing that Pascoe did not intend to pay both bills at once, he said.
Meanwhile, Pascoe said checks have been bouncing and she and her fiance, Anthony Krecic, have no funds to pay some of their bills, including bills for building a garage and horseback riding lessons for Krecic’s daughter.
“We need that money, and obviously $1,300 to Mark Stewart is no big deal,” she said.
Pascoe said she sent the first check on Feb. 11 but grew concerned when she telephoned on Feb. 19 and discovered the check had not cleared.
Pascoe said she and Krecic were refinancing their mortgage and they had a very small window to turn in financial documents, so she went to county offices on Feb. 21 and wrote another check.
She said she tried to stop payment on the first check, but both checks ended up being cashed by the county. As if that’s not bad enough, Pascoe said, she and Krecic set up an escrow account as part of the new mortgage, which will make their second tax payment of the year in July.
Stewart recommended that the couple cancel their arrangements to make additional payments on their tax bill this year through the escrow account.
Pascoe, who works as a substitute teacher, said she will be in the classroom today, but she plans to picket the county building again soon.
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
|
| ||
 |
Filed by Cindy Leise | The Chronicle-Telegram April 1st, 2008 in Top Stories.
|
 Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story
Report an innappropriate comment
|
In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement
and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here. If you are registered, click here to log in.
Seems to me like SHE mad the mistake and now wants someone else to fix it.
(Report comment)
How long did she wait until she tried to stop payment on the first check? Personally, I would have done so before writing the second one. Seems like a little bit of patience would have been more prudent in this case. If she only had a certain window of time to do things maybe it would have been better to take the first check down to the county offices instead of mailing it. Then again, as some say, hindsight is 20/20.
While I sympathize with the situation she is in now, I agree with Miss Beth that she is the one at fault here and not the county. I’m sure there could have been another way to go about getting things done.
(Report comment)
Man, worrying about not being able to pay for horseback riding lessons….I wish I had those problems
(Report comment)
The Auditor left out some of the facts. I spoke with 3 people at the Treasurer’s Office regarding the fact we were writing a 2nd check for the first half and the first payment was to be disregarded. We needed to refiance to lower our rates substantially and were running out of time. The Teasurer Dept. said it could take up to 4 weeks for the first check to be processed. They are the ones that suggested writing the 2nd check and cancelling the first, which we did right at their office. The 1st check cleared before the check cancellation (done the same day) was processed. It took the Tresurers Office 3 days to cash our 1st check, not the 4 weeks. I called and spoke personally with the Auditor on Feb. 25th regarding the overpayment issue and was denied a refund, he sent usa letter to this fact on Feb. 27th. He claims he doesn’t remember any of this…Also, the tax monies were not distributed out untill 03/18/08, plenty of time to refund our money, if he really felt compelled to work for the people who voted him into office. The Treasurer Dept. used to do refunds for overpayments but the Auditor has taken that ability away for them. Additionally, the article made an error, our escrow is now going to make a 3rd, not 2nd, property tax payment for the year. Lastly, horseback riding lessons are a financial strain but Tony works side jobs, after a full days work and on weekends to provide these, on top of the Child Support payments he makes too. Kudos to him for going above and beyond the call of duty for his daughter.
Our Auditor claims to be a Democrat but where is he now for the working class in this time of economic strain and high foreclosure rates?
(Report comment)
Elected officals, will give themselves pay raises, back date the right for fellow employees to receive backpay. Name the last elected official that you would trust? then hand them the key to your house and your check book…. do you still trust them?
(Report comment)
Everyone has money troubles at one point or another. This mistake could happen to anyone. That is why you need a savings account to pay for things like building a garage before you start the project. I don’t know, it seems like common sence to me to have money set aside for just such an emergency.
(Report comment)
Beth,
We did have money set aside, $1300.00!
You really seem to be missing the point, the money is ours and is not due until July. I am standing up not just for my family but for anyone in the future who is denied a refund, money that is rightfully theirs. I guess you’ve never returned anything to a store and expected your to receive your money back. Maybe next time you’ll be denied your refund, afterall, what you have purchased in error I’m sure you will need to use someday…See beyond yourself, the Auditor was unjust in retaining money that did not belong to him or as of that date, the county.
(Report comment)
Do you have any written documentation of them suhhesting you to issue a second check and that they would cancel the first one?
(Report comment)
I know this must be a strain on you and your family. Financial and emotional. I can symathize that this may mean you have to cut back on other areas of your budget for a few months. $1300 is a lot of money to have missing from your bank account.
But:
Do you not, in fact, owe them money? You payed a bill early by accedent due to a bank error. I fail to see why they should refund it.
The difference between returning a shirt to a store is that the store will restock the item and sell it. I give them thier item back and they refund my money. There is no debt on either side. A tax on you’re property goes to county services and is therefore nonrefundable. I’m not trying to pick on you, I just want to understand this question: Why do they refund money you owe, even if it is before the due date?
(Report comment)
Kristen,
I must admit that once I started reading this article I was siding with the Auditor but by the time I finished reading it and read your comments it all comes clear now.
It looks to me like your a victim of lazy employees at the county auditors office who just agreed to whatever you said to get rid of you and didn’t bother to look for your first check.
You must have made this arangment just before lunch…
good luck.
(Report comment)
I do not know how the over site of bill came to light, who contacted who. We had the same thing happen to us with the mortgage payment. By the time it was settled they received 3 mortgage payments for one month. Then proceeded to tell us we did not need to pay for 3 months. With other comments above it did clean out our bank account. If it was not owed then return the money! This is like going to a grocery store and paying double for your bill. You show the owner the over site and he says “I can not refund your money, just come back and get equivalent amount in 6 months” I for one would want my money back, And I hope you would.
(Report comment)
I did not get the treasurer’s office suggestion in writing however, I do have the Auditor’s refusal in writing. His letter was dated 2/27/2008. The Auditor’s office did not distribute the monies until 3/18/2008, plenty of time for a refund. As noted above by old folk, yes, mortgages are due every month but that does not mean we can afford or are obligated to pay them 6 months, as one sum, in advance. That is what has happened to us, yes, the property taxes are due in July but that does not obligate me to pay them in Feburary.
And whether you are asking for a refund for a shirt that goes back on the rack to resell or for your property taxes that will be recollected when due, everyone gets their fair share. A refund would not have caused any debt, the 2nd half taxes are not due to July and will not be distributed to probably August. Why shouldn’t our money be with us and working for us, we earned after all. Stewart denied us, and most likely will everyone else in the future, the right to their money. I have sent 2 letters (very polite ones)regarding this issue to the Chronicle’s Letter to the Editor and they have refused to print them. I have left voicemails to the Editor asking why they were not printed and they have refused to return my calls. The Chronicle’s article also left out some valid points in my favor and made an error stating my escrow will make the 2nd payment in July. No, it will be making a 3rd tax payment for the year in July. I did address this issue with our commissioners and their office went to bat for me with no success. Where is the path of justice for the people in Lorain County? Ask yourself that the next time you vote.
(Report comment)
So, when the county receives the escrow check for taxes in July, they’ll send you a check back, as you can’t overpay for a year.
Horseback lessons and paying for a new garage? Ha, if this is supposed to garner support for Pascoe, I’m not sure that it will - people around these parts are having trouble making basic bills - mortgage and utility payments.
Maybe instead of picketing the county building, Ms Pascoe should consider getting another job to pay for those horseback lessons and new garage.
(Report comment)
Jenn,
Maybe you haven’t read my other blogs and you’re just commenting on what the Chronicle wrote. All the facts weren’t stated in the article nor were all of our financial issues as a result of this stated in the article. Nevertheless, your financial status should not qualify you or disqualify you for a refund. Once again, it’s more the prinicple of not returning the money. The treasurer’s office, up until this past year, did give refunds for overpayments until the Auditor took their ability away because he didn’t like how they were doing it (reported to me from a Treasurer employee) He then created his own new rule of no refunds. He’s not working for the people who elected him into office - the citizens of Lorain county. Maybe Jenn, you don’t own any property to have a clue as to what’s going on.
(Report comment)
Kristen, it is clear *you* do not understand what is going on. Until your balance on the bill is at a zero balance you still owe it irregardless of the due date.
Think of it this way, if I owe my cable company $150 and it’s due on the 25th and I pay it on the 5th, I can’t go down to the cable company and ask them for my money back because Best Buy is having a killer sale on the 10th. It’s the same principle. The comparison of returning of a shirt and the grocery store scenario is comparing apples to oranges in this case.
You jumped the gun by not waiting until the first check cleared and unfortunately you have to deal with the consequences of that action. And yes, I pay property taxes on land that I own, just an FYI.
(Report comment)
If you know anything about mortgages, as you claim to be a property owner, then you realize that an interest rate locked in during financing has an expiration date. Keep in mind the Treasurer’s office suggested we do this. Further, I am not asking for a refund on a 20-day due date window or for a much smaller sum of $150.00. Talk about comparing apples to oranges, perhaps you need to relearn your fruit. But once again, another “working mind’ of Lorian County can’t seem to grasp the concept that you are intitled to your hard earned money and that an elected official is to work for you, their employer, not against you.
(Report comment)
Yes, I realize that the rates have an expiration date. That is why I said that the *first* check probably should have been taken down there instead of mailed in. Most of the offers I get in the mail to refinance have at least a 60 day window. Maybe you shouldn’t have procrastinated so long in getting everything done in that time frame.
Regardless if it is a $150 bill or a $1300 bill the comparison is the same. Sorry you can’t grasp that.
When I first read this I felt sorry that this had happened to you, but still felt then that you were the one at fault. Once you submit a check to anyone it will be processed for payment. It is up to you to stop payment on it. If you write a second check not even knowing if the first one has been received then you unfortunately have a chance that it has been processed before you try to stop payment.
As for being told by the auditor’s office to write the second check, like they are going to tell you not to? They are there to collect money.
Your responses here and your attitude have shown your true colors and sorry, but any sympathy I had for your situation went out the window when you made it seem like a parent that does anything beyond paying court ordered child support for their child should be applauded. Give me a break. Wait until July for your refund. You’ll have better weather then anyway for horseback riding and garage building.
(Report comment)
The way to solve problems is not to finger point as to who’s right and who’s wrong. I never said that the mistake wasn’t on our end, it was, but to just say too bad, tough luck, isn’t the way to work for your citizens. The way to solve a problem is to find a compromised win-win situation. Zero Tolerance rules and laws leave out common sense, that is why issues resulting from Zero Tolerance rulings make the news so often.
Regarding Tony, BT your are absolutely right. I guess the huge issue of ‘Dead Beat Dad’s’ has been solved. Often we just assume that every parent, mother or father, who is ordered to pay child support, will keep up with the payments because it’s the right thing to do. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. Anyway, I am proud of Tony and his daughter’s mother for teaming together to make a wonderful life for their child. I will continually applaud each and every parent out there that makes any type of sacrifice for the betterment of their children.
(Report comment)
The week has come to an end and I’m am signing out and moving on. Before I go II would like to say THANK YOU to every person who has offered their support during this entire situtation. I also would like to give a big thanks to the county employess for their support, kind words and hot coffee! Kristen
(Report comment)
Thanks Kristen, but I did read the article and the replies.
As to whether I pay taxes, yes, I do. On my primary residence plus four other properties. Nice try on that one, but I wouldn’t be so quick to make assumptions.
The principle of the thing is that the auditor has applied your payment to your second half of your taxes - which you owe and which you won’t have to pay again in July. They’ll reimburse you if it’s overpaid.
(Report comment)
I too sympathize with your situation but feel things could/should have been handled in a better way. In the end, I don’t think it’s a zero tolerance rule so much as it’s just a rule. Life has them. Policies are sometimes made or changed because they need to be, as it sounds in this case, because things aren’t working the way they’re being done. There’s no point in making a policy if every time someone has a disagreement with it, we say, “You know what, you’re right. We’ll break it this time.” Where I work, and I venture to say where many people do, there are policies put in place by your workplace. Sometimes people come in and you feel bad that the policy affects them in a negative way, but it’s NOT PERSONAL and it still has to be enforced so you don’t have a slew of other people asking you to break the policy for them too and get accused of favoritism when you can’t.
(Report comment)
Kristen’s cute. Give her the money Mark Stewart.
(Report comment)
Omg. This has got to be the most ridiculous story I have ever seen commented on in this paper.
(Report comment)
Man this is a funny story. I love stopping by the hometown paper and seeing what’s going on. This woman must be a total tool.
(Report comment)