VICKSBURG, Mich. - The village of Vicksburg owes Kalamazoo County more than $26,000 after a property tax mix-up.
It turns out the village wasn't recording all the money they were getting from property owners, so when the total came up $26,000 short, the county helped cover the cost.
About 30 property owners in the Vicksburg recently got a letter informing them the village never received a property tax payment.
According to the Village Manager however, those same people did pay their taxes , the checks were cashed, but the payments were never logged in the books.
The issue was brought to light after citizens started complaining they were getting double billed on property taxes.
Local government officials did some checking and found the money was deposited in the bank. Officials then cross-referenced the deposits with checks that were written out for property taxes. They were able to narrow down some of the mistakes.
Officials said it's much harder to find those who paid in cash.
In the meantime, the village is working out a payment plan to give the county it's money back.
"At our last meeting, our council meeting, we did have a total and we verified it with the county," said Jenny McKillop, the Treasurer of Vicksburg. "Because it is money that they made us whole on, and we do owe it back to them."
Officials tell us they plan on going line-by-line looking at all transactions so they can determine why some money was not recorded in the log.
We're told if their is evidence of a crime they will have the Michigan State Police investigate.
