Some 9,000 Weber County residents got a jolt this week when they opened the county tax renewal notices for their boats and off-highway vehicles to find most had been valued at $17 million for tax purposes.
Don't panic and don't run down to the bank for a second mortgage.It's just another one of those governmental computer glitches.
Weber County Assessor David Haun said Friday that information on a computer screen used to set up the tax notice for printing "kind of got moved around."
His best guess is that the tax rate 1.7 percent got moved into the screen location that was supposed to contain the market value. That's probably where the $17 million figure came from.
But another figure that moved into the tax rate screen location was very low, Haun said, "So the tax bills really weren't so outlandish."
For example, one all-terrain vehicle was valued at $17 million but the low tax rate only brought the tax bill to $188.
Corrected and less entertaining tax renewal notices will be sent out next week to the taxpayers involved.
The cost of a new mailing will be about $1,700, Haun said.