Angry Audubon, New Jersey residents let their voices be heard Wednesday night after a mistake from a school district administrator added hundreds of dollars to their taxes.
Around 100 people attended a public meeting at Audubon High School after they were slapped with a higher 3rd quarter tax bill due to an error by a longtime administrator. The error caused an increase of $415 on the average assessed home in Audubon.
“I put the money in the wrong column,” said Robert Delengowski, the Audubon School business administrator. “Now that’s all I can tell you. I can tell you that I made a mistake with it. I can only tell you what I did.”
Delengowski says he checked the wrong box on the school budget form, deferring more than a million dollars in tax money for the 2013-14 budget.
By the time the school board auditor caught the mistake in November, it was too late and Camden County was already required to collect.
“Someone should be held accountable for this and no one wants to take the blame or do anything to make it right,” said Joan Schriber.
School officials say the tax bill will eventually “even out” over the next four years. But that’s not good enough for some residents.
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“They didn’t tell anybody from last November so they hid it,” said Mike Scott. “Every question that was brought up to the school board, there was no answer.”
If you have questions regarding the tax hike, you may contact the Audubon School District at 856-547-7695.
