Lake Elsinore Man Catches Error, Saves Locals From Extra Tax: Report

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — An eagle-eyed resident of the Tuscany Hills neighborhood in Lake Elsinore just saved hundreds of his neighbors from potentially having to shell out money for an erroneous fee, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Pat Kilroy, a former city administrator who retired in 2014, noticed an item on his Riverside County bill marked "CFD 90-2 Lake Elsinore." It was a reoccurring charge to pay off the Mello-Roose tax that Kilroy and his fellow neighbors had been paying since 2007. The bond covered 7.3 million in bond debt for infrastructure improvements to their area.

But after reviewing the city's annual report for Tuscany Hills, he noticed that the bill had been paid off on Oct. 1 and that the Community Facilities District tax had an outstanding balance of zero, the newspaper reported.

After corresponding with the city, officials confirmed that they had made a mistake and corrective measures were set in motion for more than 400 Tuscany Hills residents.

Of the 424 residents who received the bill, four paid it in full. Councilman Timothy Sheridan confirmed that the city would refund those residents and send new bills out to everyone who received the bill, The Press-Enterprise reported. Sheridan said the average bill cost residents $2,000 annually.

Read more from the Press-Enterprise: How one man stopped Lake Elsinore from collecting taxes for a debt that was already paid off