UPDATE: 09/10/2012 - 09:30 PM
ON THE QUESTION OF HOW REVENUES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS & SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN GO DOWN WHEN REAL ESTATE VALUES ARE ADJUSTED DOWNWARD
From: "Bryan"
To: tramols@att.net
Martin,
Thanks as always for the info and detail. I am confused about one thing. I thought that when real estate values changed, that the "effective" millages were adjusted to provide fixed funding set at the time a levy is passed. So if values go down, won't millages go up? I do not understand how a decreased overall appraised value will cost the schools money.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
ANSWER: See blog of Megan Roberts (LINK)
ORIGINAL BLOG
According to Ohio law (ORC 5715.33), county auditors are required to re-appraise the real estate in the county once every six years coupled with an update at the interim three year mark, to wit:
The tax commissioner shall order a reappraisal of all real property in each county once in each six-year period. The commissioner may order the commencement of any sexennial reappraisal in sufficient time for the county auditor to complete the reappraisal as required by section 5713.01 of the Revised Code. The commissioner may order a reassessment of the real property or any class thereof in any taxing district or subdivision thereof in the third calendar year following the year in which a sexennial reappraisal is completed if in his opinion such property has been unequally or improperly assessed, so that all classes of property in such district shall be assessed in compliance with law.
Stark County Auditor Alan Harold has completed Stark's audit and the "estimated" results are in the mail.
For example:
Estimated?
Yes. Harold says that the numbers will not be set until December which gives Stark Countians time to question whether or not the reappraisal for their individual properties are accurate.
In the video below, Harold (also see Frost video) his Chief Deputy Auditor Jason Frost (real estate) have a number of interesting observations:
- Stark County's 17 school districts (which include R.G. Drage) will take about a $6 million hit,
- Stark County's cities, villages and townships will also take a hit, but a lesser one, however, when coupled with dramatic reductions with state of Ohio Local Government Fund Reductions and the elimination of Ohio's Estate Tax (beginning January 1, 2013) the loss of these entities funding will be quite substantial,
- Starting yesterday, 130,000 Stark Countians will begin receiving a mailing which details what their new property valuations are proposed to be in 2012 as compared to 2011,
- The auditor's office has 12 staff members at the ready to answer Stark County real property taxpayers' questions on the reappraisal.
- About 80% of the reappraised properties are single family residences,
- Stark Countians should not hesitate to contact the auditor's office staff BEFORE October 1st if they have any evidence that the county's appraisal is inaccurate (online LINK for taxpayers to initiate a review; need to have parcel number),
- Stark Countians who want to have their appraisals reviewed can:
- go online (see Link above) and do an online review (about 5/10 minutes to complete),
- call the auditor's office phone bank (330-451-7085) and do a telephone review,
- discuss face-to-face with a Stark County auditor's office appraiser any inaccuracies they believe exists at one of the 22 community site meeting that are set up for September,
- The auditors will be fanning out through Stark County with a series of meetings (22 sites during the month of September) to acquaint taxpayers with the changes and to take questions.
- Stark County schools lost $76 million in market value appraisals,
- Canton City Schools lost $2.5 million in market value appraisal, and
- Stark County (as a whole) lost $1.8 billion in market value appraisal.
Here is a SCPR video of Auditor Harold with his entire remarks made during Tuesday's work session (open to the Stark County public) with the Stark County commissioners.
A key figure in accomplishing the reappraisal was Harold's chief deputy auditor for real estate Jason Frost. Here is a SCPR video of Frost going into more of the details of the reappraisal process with commissioners.
The Stark County Political Report commends the Stark County commissioners for bring Auditor Harold and Chief Deputy Auditor Frost into a work session to explain in detail how the appraisal was accomplished, what the appraisal numbers mean and how they were arrived out and how Stark Countians can interact with the auditors to ensure that the appraisal is fair and accurate.
Before Commissioners Bernabei and Creighton came into office in 2010, this sort of meeting would never have occurred.
Stark County has come a long with the election of the two commissioners. Moreover, Alan Harold is to be commended for bring a professionalism that probably hasn't existed in the auditor's office since Creighton was the county auditor.
Stark County Treasurer Alex Zumber, too, has dramatically improved the operations of the Stark County treasury.
Martin,
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for the info and detail. I am confused about one thing. I thought that when real estate values changed, that the "effective" millages were adjusted to provide fixed funding set at the time a levy is passed. So if values go down, won't millages go up? I do not understand how a decreased overall appraised value will cost the schools money.
Thanks in advance for your reply.