Penalties for receiving Homestead Deductions on rental properties?

[Ritch Shepherd]

I received a letter from the Marion County Auditor, Indianapolis, IN, stating that I've been receiving Homestead Deductions on some of my rental properties for over 3yrs, and now they are going to invoice me for the past three years, plus interest, and penalties. I never applied for these deductions, and it's clearly an error made by the auditor's office, because they should have taken them off when I closed on the properties, but instead they are penalizing me for their mistakes. I closed on these properties in 2008 and there was nothing mentioned about the Homestead Deduction. Where do I go to contest being penalized for their mistakes?