ECHO — Residents within Echo Fire District have been sent notice that they were overbilled on their property taxes due to a filing error for the district’s bond.

Taxpayers who have not paid their property taxes yet can pay the lower amount on their new, corrected statement, according to the letter. Those who already paid the amount in their initial statement will receive a refund for the difference “in the next few weeks.”

Rachael Reynolds, director of taxation and assessment for Umatilla County, said the error came from paperwork filed by the fire district that mistakenly levied the district’s $500,000 bond over one year instead of 10. 

The district also notified residents in a statement on its Facebook page, apologizing for the error and any inconvenience it caused.

Echo Fire District is an all-volunteer fire district of 25 volunteers, covering 496 square miles in the county. According to information provided by the district before voters passed the $500,000 bond in May, the bond will pay for new equipment, including the replacement of a 1964 fire engine, and the addition of a new bay to the fire station so that the district can park all of its engines indoors.