SMITHVILLE – Residents of the town of Smithville came out in rare form to attend a public hearing held Thursday evening where town board members heard public comment regarding a proposed local law that would override the newly enacted 2 percent tax cap handed down from Albany in 2012.

Town Supervisor Fred J. Heisler Jr. informed the group that there had been a recording error in the adopted budget that made it to the county tax office, and as a result taxpayers in the Town of Smithville were “under billed.”

Heisler insisted that “we don't know who's responsible; it could have been a computer error or human error,” at which point he indicated that he is taking full responsibility for the problem.

While details into the matter are still being compiled, Heisler indicated that there was a budgetary deficit of nearly $60,000 in the town of Smithville’s 2014 tax levy, and that the “only option” is to override the two percent state tax cap in effort to recoup the erroneous tax warrants.