East Jordan city leaders are looking into a problem they uncovered from 1969.
EAST JORDAN, MI -- Residents in a small city in Charlevoix County may have been overtaxed for the last four decades.
It all goes back to the way a ballot question was worded in 1969.
City Manager Bob Anderson says he believes the mistake was made in "good faith" 42 years ago. But now the question is if the city is on the hook?
“It may be that the language did not create a dedicated .5 mils, but that .5 mils they're talking about was part of the general millage of the city," said Anderson.
This all goes back to a ballot question voters said yes to in 1969, when residents allocated a half of a mil to the city fire department for equipment upgrades. City commissioners took a closer look at it this year, and they question if the .5 mils was to be tacked on or be a part of the previous millage. The city has asked their attorney to help answer that question.
“The intent doesn't really matter, it's the language, and that's what he's looking at now," said Anderson.
Anderson says the city may have taxed residents an additional .488 to .5 mils since the vote was passed.
“It seems to be if it was a mistake, that it was an honest mistake," said Anderson.
The city is investigating if this mistake means they'll have to cut checks to the residents.
Deneille Moes has lived in her East Jordan home for seven years.
She says the value of her home is $100,000, and she believes the half a mil in question is a tax of about $50 a year, that's $350 she thinks should be returned if there was a mistake. She says it’s a small amount compared to those who have lived in their homes a lot longer.
“A simple error still needs to be corrected, and the benefits need to come back to the people, we didn't make the error, it needs to be paid back to them," said Moes.
“There are a ton of unanswered questions, and a ton of questions of the ramifications it's going to have on the city and its finances," said Anderson.
Anderson said this finding is at its infancy stage, and if there is something found that is wrong, the city will do what they can to right it.
Anderson said the city's general fund is a little less than two-million dollars, and said if they have to dip into it to reimburse residents, it could be a blow to the city.
