WESTERLO — Don’t pay that bill! That was the message from Westerlo’s assistant clerk, Karla Weaver, at the town board meeting Tuesday.

She was referring to Berne-Knox-Westerlo school tax bills sent out last week to town property owners enrolled in the state’s  School Tax Relief  program, known as STAR.

The bills were issued by the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which handles tax-billing for the BKW school district. BOCES did not return a call seeking comment.

They were as much as $500 or $600 higher than they should have been, Weaver said.

BKW Business Manager Sarah Blood told The Enterprise that the erroneous bills were sent to 325 property owners in Westerlo who receive exemptions through the basic STAR program; BOCES had omitted the STAR exemption. Berne and Knox STAR enrollees received correct tax bills, she said.   

A posting on the homepage of the BKW school district says corrected bill have been mailed out. Blood said the district first learned of the problem when calls were received from Westerlo residents. Any questions, she said, can be addressed to the school tax collector at (518) 872-5138.

Weaver said she  is available to answer questions at the town clerk’s office, which is open Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The number there is (518) 797-3111.

Corrected on Sept. 9, 2016: The original story attributed the comment that BOCES omitted the STAR exemption to Karla Weaver instead of Sarah Blood.