Putnam School Tax Collection Temporarily Suspended

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Due to a file control error, the Putnam County commissioner of finance announced that the 2019-20 school tax collection process has been temporarily suspended. The error caused veterans exemptions to exceed maximum limits and thus cause the school tax bill to be incorrect.

According to a press release, new corrected 2019-20 school tax bills will be mailed the week of Sept. 16 and will be clearly marked "CORRECTED" and will be printed in yellow.

The vast majority of taxpayers will see a small reduction in their tax bills, while about 3,300 people receiving the affected exemptions will receive a corrected tax bill that will be comparable to the school tax bill they have received in previous years, according to a statement from County Executive MaryEllen Odell.

Because of the error, the tax collection period will be extended as follows:

• 1st half partial payments will be due Oct. 7
• Full Pay payments without interest are due Oct. 21

Taxpayers wishing to pay in person can contact their local tax collector the week of Sept. 16 for the date that in-person payments will resume.

If you've already paid your school taxes, you will receive a refund if it was overpaid. If it was underpaid, you must pay the difference to the local school tax collector, according to the county.

William J. Carlin Jr., the county's commissioner of finance, apologized to the school district and municipal officials and taxpayers for the inconvenience.

"We will be putting into place procedures to help ensure that this does not happen again," he said.

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