Can Perry County Commissioners Raise or Lower Taxes?
I provided this article, published by the Perry County Tribune on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, with the intention of clarifying what County Commissioners can and cannot do about property taxes. You can read the full text here below or at The Perry County Tribune.
Everyone who owns land in Perry County has received their real estate tax bills, and I am sure no one is happy about the increases they are seeing.
I hope to provide facts about real estate taxes that may shed light on how increases happen and dispel the myth that your county commissioners are responsible for raising or lowering these taxes. In a nutshell:
Can County Commissioners raise or lower taxes?
• The board of county commissioners has no authority to raise or lower your taxes.
• The county treasurer has no authority to raise or lower your taxes.
• The County Auditor has no authority to raise or lower your taxes.
• The County Auditor is responsible for conducting the appraisal process on the value of your property.
If you disagree with the county auditor’s value appraisal you can file a request for revision at the auditor’s office to make your case with the Board of Revisions.
Here is a link to the county auditor’s PDF outlining how filing a request works and best ways to present your case:
https://www.perrycountyauditor.us/media/3818/guidlines-for-filing-your-board-of-revision-complaint.pdf
Over the past few years, you have seen real estate values increase dramatically. Increases in property values, however, do NOT mean that the corresponding property taxes will increase proportionally.
In 1976, the Ohio General Assembly, through House Bill 920, created a process for assessing real property values and their corresponding property tax rates. Whether property values increase or decrease in a neighborhood, tax rates are adjusted to prevent significant changes in the taxes owed. This is known as the “effective tax rate.” Generally, tax bills will remain constant even though the property value may have increased or decreased. Tax bills may see modest increases based on inside millage, new levies, or even new construction. Keep reading for an explanation of “inside millage.”
County auditors set new values every six years through a reappraisal process. The suditor’s staff inspects every property in the county. Because a lot can happen in six years, the county auditors update values in the third year after the reappraisals, so properties accurately reflect current market value. This is called an update.
All of Ohio’s 88 counties do not reappraise at the same time. Counties are separated into three groups. Each year, one-third of the counties are experiencing a reappraisal or update process. In 2023, 28 counties underwent a six-year reappraisal. Perry County was one of those. In 2026 Perry County will undergo an update.
Farmland devoted exclusively to commercial agriculture may be valued according to its current use rather than at its “highest and best” potential use. This provision of Ohio law is known as the Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) program.
You can apply to have your property valued for CAUV consideration on the first Monday of each March.
Here’s the link to the application:
https://www.perrycountyauditor.us/media/3797/dte-109-initial-application-for-the-valuation-of-land-at-its-current-agricultural-use.pdf
By permitting values to be set well below true market values, the CAUV normally results in a substantially lower tax bill for working farmers. To qualify for the CAUV, land must meet one of the following requirements during the three years preceding an application for the CAUV:
Ten or more acres must be devoted exclusively to commercial agricultural use; or, if under 10 acres are devoted exclusively to commercial agricultural use, the farm must produce an average yearly gross income of at least $2,500.
What is a “mill,” and why is it called that?
Mill rate is a tax rate ¬– the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. Mill is derived from the Latin word millesimum, meaning thousandth. Millage rates mathematically expressed represents one part per thousandth and can also be expressed as 0.1%. As used in property tax, 1 mill is equal to $1 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. For example, 50 “mills” are equal to $50 per every $1,000 of the estimated property value, etc.
What is “inside millage?”
The Ohio Constitution guarantees 10 mills of unvoted taxes, also called inside millage, for each taxing district in Ohio. The amount is allocated among various local public entities. The Ohio Constitution prohibits governmental units from levying property taxes that, in the aggregate, exceed 1% of true value, unless they are approved by voters. This is known in state law as the 10-mill imitation on non-voted or “inside” millage.
Schools
The school district income tax (SDIT) is levied at a percentage on the income of district residents or on the taxable income of an estate. Businesses do not pay SDIT; only residents of the district are required to pay SDIT.
School districts in Ohio are financed with a combination of federal, state and local funds. At the state level, school districts receive funding from the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) general revenue funds and Ohio Lottery profits. At the local level, school districts receive funding from locally-levied property taxes. School districts also can receive funding from income taxes approved by voters.
Local levies
Local levies in excess of the 10-mill limitation must be voter-approved whether it is county-wide, a township, or a village corporation. The excess can only be added by passing the levy on the voter ballot.
Tax rates throughout Perry County
The Treasurer’s Report details the rates of taxation for 2023 in Perry County, Ohio.
Here is a link to the PDF showing 2023 tax rates:
https://www.perrycountyauditor.us/media/13045/2023-tax-rates.pdf
