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.