Property taxes, transportation program, county projects discussed at county commission meeting

Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton heard updates on county property taxes and local transportation, plus made approvals related to several county projects, during their Wednesday, Sept. 11 meeting.

As announced by Highland County Auditor Alex Butler Aug. 28, a “tentative abstract” of new values based on the county’s 2024 property tax appraisals has been submitted to the Ohio Department of Taxation and approved. Anyone owning property in the county can check their new valuation at highlandcountyauditor.org.

Residential properties in Highland County will see an average 30-percent increase in valuation, as discussed last month.

A potential area “that we need to investigate,” Butler said Wednesday, is the commissioners’ “ability to roll back a portion of your part of the tax rate.”

“We all are acutely aware of the cost of living now,” Butler said. “Everybody in this room has experienced it, and we know that Highland County families are experiencing it.”

According to the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, “From time to time, a county may decide that it is not necessary to collect some, or all, of its inside mills. The Revised Code allows a county to reduce its inside millage rate without having its allotment reallocated by the County Budget Commission to other local governments.

“In order to voluntarily reduce inside millage, commissioners must either be increasing the rate of a permissive sales tax or have a sales tax in effect. It does not matter whether the sales tax has been enacted under R.C. 5739.021 or R.C. 5739.026. Since all counties currently levy a permissive sales tax, the authority effectively exists for all counties.”

According to the CCAO, Highland County’s inside millage is 2.9, to benefit the general fund.
 
“The commissioners do have the option to roll back part of the county's millage, like the state does, with some of the millage and the tax rate,”  Butler said. “That's something that we need to investigate together to see if we're able to provide some relief, in light of the increased values and increased cost of living.”

Daniels said that Butler “is working on getting a recommendation to” commissioners outlining “what we can do, what we're allowed to do, what the parameters of that are.”

“Yes,” Butler said. “I think this is something we need to look into right away and act on as soon as possible.”

Property owners who would like to meet with appraisers and/or share information that could potentially impact their property value may schedule an appointment during the “informal hearing period,” which is going on through Sept. 20. Butler discussed how those appointments with the community have been going thus far this week, as the hearing period started Sept. 9.

“In the auditor's office, we are committed to transparency, informing the public and great customer service,” Butler said. “I work for the taxpayers and want to be as accessible to them and as informative as possible. I would encourage anyone still, while we're in our informal hearing time, to reach out to review the values we have online, let us know if they have any questions, or if they want to call in and schedule or just walk in, we will accommodate that.”

The auditor’s office can be reached by calling (937) 393-1915 or by emailing auditor@co.highland.oh.us.

"We have had a pretty full schedule, and we've tried to make it as pleasant and helpful experience as possible,” Butler said. “For example, Monday, we had a full schedule, 15-20 minute blocks — or longer, if necessary, but we try to accommodate in 15 to 20 minutes — all day long. We are also receiving some walk-ins and phone calls.

“We have not only our full-time auditor staff, but appraisers, members of the appraisal team, who are here on site full time this week and next week to to be available to the public.”

Daniels asked if they could “extend that period” if necessary based on the large volume of appointment requests thus far.

“That is possible, if we need more time,” Butler said. “The final abstract is not due to the state until the end of October, so we have some more time if we need it.

“I want to reiterate that we work for the people, and we are here to be helpful and transparent and have great customer service. That's why we exist in the auditor’s office, to serve the people. We are available to answer any questions, even if it's not to contest value. If you want to know about the appraisal process, or how taxes are calculated and how that works, we are more than happy to field those questions.”

Daniels asked what residents “need to bring” to these appointments to “present [an] argument” on their valuation.

“The best advice is to come prepared, come with information, come with data,” Butler said. “For example, if you have a recent appraisal of your home that differs from the fair market value that we have assigned, I would be very interested in taking a look at that.

“Let's say the condition of the home on the inside is not something we're aware of, because we don't go inside homes — if it's in disrepair, if it's not hooked up to utilities, if it's not livable, I would encourage you to come in with pictures or information indicating that, so we can certainly take that into account.”

As noted Aug. 28, while the property values can be reviewed, Butler reminded the community that the auditor’s office cannot estimate the cost of property taxes for next year because at this time, the tax rate is unknown.

“A common question that we're getting is, ‘hey, what does this mean for my taxes?’” Butler said. “We won't get the tax rate until probably December, so we're not able to calculate or give an estimate on what property tax will be when the new bills are generated.

“I know that this reappraisal cycle, the county has experienced a larger increase in it probably ever has, at least in recent times, and that is the norm across the state.”

Butler shared some figures from other counties having either their six-year reappraisal or triennial update, and Highland County’s 30-percent average increase is in line with the other counties.

On the lower end are Allen (26-percent increase), Erie and Fairfield (both 28-percent) and Lake (29-percent) counties; on the higher side are Lorain (31-percent increase), Ottawa (33-percent), Delaware and Pickaway (both 34-percent) Butler (37-percent), Wayne (38-percent) and Morrow (39-percent) counties.

In response to a question from Daniels, Butler said that Highland County is “par for the course” in other categories, such as agricultural land, compared to these counties as well.

“We are mandated to reappraise all the property and assign a fair market value every six years,” Butler said. “It's not a choice that that we have.

“I want the public to know that the increase in value is not dollar for dollar with your taxes. So, for example, a 30-percent increase — and again, that's the county average —for residential does not mean a 30-percent increase in tax because the state will apply reduction factors to part of the millage that makes up the tax rate.

“What we can work with people on in the auditor's office is the valuation,” Butler continued. “They’re able to appeal the fair market value that we have arrived at. We are more than happy to sit down and take a look and hear their concerns or any information they may have about the property that would affect the fair market value that we are unaware of.”

• On another topic involving property tax rates, commissioners rescinded a previously approved resolution for the Highland County Children Services tax levy and to approve a new resolution with amended text.

In August, commissioners rescinded their previous resolution to correct a number. Daniels said that Wednesday’s amendment was “adding two words” to clarify the tax year, at the recommendation of Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins. It again has no impact on the amount of millage being sought.

As previously reported, according to Highland County Job & Family Services Director Jeremy Ratcliff, the Children Services agency will place a five-year, 0.9-mill renewal levy on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election, as they are “on pace for $4.1 million” in placement costs this calendar year. Of that $4 million, the levy would help offset “about 17 percent of what we need,” Ratcliff said July 17.

A proposed five-year, one-mill replacement levy for the agency failed in the Nov. 7, 2023 general election. A subsequent attempt to return to the previous 0.9 millage, through a levy issue on the March 19 primary ballot, was also voted down.

“I think it's worth mentioning that we're running this as a renewal, but in light of recent news [regarding property tax increases], we're talking about renewing a levy with valuations that go back to 2008,” Ratcliff said. “This levy has been renewed a few times, and I think it's important for our folks to know that regardless of what happens to valuations in the future, passage of this levy locks in 2008 valuations.

“We’ll continue to kind of spread that message so people are clear on what exactly this levy is going to be based on, what valuations will be based on. I appreciate everybody's hard work so far.”

In other discussion:

• FRS Transportation CEO Damon Lucas updated commissioners on a previously discussed national grant to help provide free workplace transportation for local residents.

As discussed by former Highland County Mobility Manager Chris Hetzel in January, Highland County is a part of the Region 7 Mobility Council, which was recently awarded “one of the four grants that was given nationwide” from the National Center for Mobility Management, in the amount of $20,000.

“This $20,000 is basically for a learning launch to take a look and see if there's a need and a sustainability future for work rides in the region, our 10-county region, stretching from all the Brown County all the way over to Gallia,” Lucas said. “We’re launching a learning launch session, starting Sept. 30. It's going to run for roughly a month, through Nov. 1.

“We're basically offering free rides, workplace rides, to those individuals who are currently riding or new individuals seeking employment, whether it be for interviews or for work itself.”

Through this grant, Lucas said they will be able to set up “passes” for a month of free rides for individuals in Highland, Adams and Brown counties, then will “gauge interest” among employers and participants and “check the sustainability of this project” to see if it can be implemented on a more permanent scale.
 
“Workplace is already one of our largest reasons for transit in the region,” Lucas said. “We take over 250 people to work weekly, so that's a big, big project. It's a good program, trying to find additional grant dollars to try and help those people get to work on their first 30 days, and even hopefully extend that past, up to 90 days.”

Residents interested in signing up for a month of free rides through the “Work Ride Solutions” program can call FRS at (937) 393-0585. Current, established riders will also receive a free month, according to Lucas, although they are “trying to focus on new employment.”  

Lucas said that area transportation providers are also working with local employers to promote the project.

“Once we get past this project and we are approved, this opens up the door for more federal funds, possibly in the spring of next year to the tune of $75,000, to continue the process working in the region, and then beyond that as well,” Lucas said. “We're pretty excited about it.”

Commissioners thanked Lucas for the information and congratulated him on the opportunity.

“Hopefully it all works out and proves to be a success,” Daniels said.

• Via resolution, commissioners voted 3-0 to award the Clay Township Park Improvements Project to Kiley Construction in the amount of $199,283.

There was no discussion Wednesday, although the vote came less than a month after a somewhat heated exchange with Clay Township trustees.

As previously reported, the county received $250,000 for the demolition of the former Buford school, which has been completed, and subsequent renovations. In May, commissioners opened bids for Clay Township park improvements and playground equipment. Two physical bids were submitted, with Kiley Construction having the low bid.

On Aug. 14, Clay Township trustees Kenneth Bohl and James Massey, who were not on the agenda, addressed commissioners about the planned park and said they were “tired of complaints every month” that the project “isn’t done.” Commissioners said the bids came in above estimates and pointed out that the trustees had committed to “$20,000 or $25,000” for the project.  They also exchanged words about work previously done by contractors on the property and reports that trustees had stopped mowing there.

• Commissioners approved a change order request in the amount of $20,367.75 from Alpha Construction for waterproofing the building foundation at the new records storage building on Beech Street, which is currently under construction.

“They originally came at us with a change order of around $54,000,” Highland County ARPA funding coordinator Nicole Oberrecht said. “We’ve had some back and forth, scaling down what we were looking for out of that, and so they came back with a new change order.

“Along with that price increase, they're also asking for a six-day addition to their contract, three for the excavation portion and another three for the waterproofing.”

Daniels asked Oberrecht if they needed to “hold off for further negotiations.”

“That would be your guys’ decision,” she said. “The waterproofing quote looked pretty cut and dry to me. I don't know if there's any room to wiggle on that. The only portion would be maybe the excavation.”

Roades said that from his discussions with contractors, “the only time to do it is right now, because they're going to soon pour sidewalks up against the building.

“I do feel like we've negotiated,” Roades said.

“We’ve got some momentum going as far as the work progressing,” Oberrecht added.

• For an unrelated county building project, commissioners voted 3-0 to execute a proposal from the WDC Group for design and construction services of the Highland County Engineer Truck Barn.

As previously reported, State Senator Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) announced in June the investment of $1 million from the One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund (OTSCIF) to support the project, which will accommodate over 20 trucks.

“We put out a request for proposals for engineering services and scope of work services,” Daniels said. “We got four responses back. We have ranked them with the matrix that we put in place, and WDC Group has scored the highest.”

• Commissioners approved a purchased service contract between Highland County Job and Family Services and FRS Transportation for NET (Non-Emergency Transportation) services.

“It's a federal Medicaid program,” Ratcliff said. “This will be the third year for that.

“We’ve got a great partner in FRS Transportation.  We administer the NET transportation program, funding, monitoring, and they're the service provider that implements and allows our citizens to be able to have transportation to Medicaid-funded services, mostly healthcare related.”

• Commissioners began the meeting by remembering the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on that tragedy’s 23rd anniversary.

In other action, commissioners made the following approvals, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A request to create a new line item within Probation's TCAP FY24-25 (2625) fund. Also requested is a budget modification within the 2625 fund in the amount of $72,731.50.

• A request from the Auditor for a budget modification within the 1000 general fund in the amount of $1,500.

• An independent contract agreement with Roberts Paving, Inc. to crack-fill the main runway and turnaround at the Highland County Airport.

For more from Wednesday’s meeting, see the story at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/state-issues-order-pilot-payment-c….

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