The city of Smithville just found itself $60K poorer.

“This wasn’t just us,” City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson told the city board of mayor and aldermen of the $60,568 city coffers will be short this year. “It was statewide.”

At issue was sales tax and who it was to be paid to. According to Hendrixson, the amount, which will be deducted from the city’s payment from the state, was wrongly attributed to the city of Smithville when it should have been given to DeKalb County. It was discovered during a routine state audit.

“It’s a one-time deal and everything is straight now,” Hendrixson said, adding things could have been a lot worse as the audit only went back for a year so the city will not have to pay any back amounts.

Hendrixson said he does not know why the sales tax was wrongly earmarked for the city when it should have been given to the county. The mistake, he added, with not on the city or county but instead on how the state set up on to whom the sale tax share was to be paid.

While the damage was limited, members of the city board were not thrilled by the loss of funds.

“It was basically the state’s error and now we’re paying for it,” said Alderman Gayla Hendrix, pointing out that extrapolating it out, it will cost the city about $5,000 a month for the year.