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Published on 09/22/1999 All articles from this issue

County error has LAH owing almost $400,000

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Special to the Town Crier

The town of Los Altos Hills owes nearly $400,000 to the county, thanks to a county accounting error four years ago that was admitted to last week.

County supervisor Joe Simitian, who represents three of the four municipalities involved in this latest discovery - approximately $2 million in miscalculations - said the Board of Supervisors has tabled discussion on what to do about it until their next board meeting in October.

In addition to Los Altos Hills, the other municipalities are Cupertino, Saratoga and Monte Sereno.

"This is the third in a series of miscalculations dating back to 1996," Simitian said Monday. The impact was first discovered among county school districts, including the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.

Simitian said the county tax apportionment department, beset with a lack of personnel and outdated equipment, made the mistakes.

"I'm going to make the case that since this is a county error, the county ought to be accountable for the loss," Simitian said, rather than force the cities to recoup the funding themselves.

"It's unreasonable to expect cities to absorb the cumulative effects of this problem," he said. "Obviously, I'm frustrated. This issue has not been addressed."

In addition to Los Altos Hills, Cupertino owes $700,000 according to county calculations, while Saratoga owes $850,000.