Thurgood Marshall graduation 2012
Badin vs. Versailles
Law Enforcement Memorial Day
Michael D. Pitman reports about Butler County, Ohio, politics, county government, countywide issues and Butler County people just like you for Cox Ohio Publishing (including the Hamilton JournalNews, Middletown Journal and several weekly papers in Butler County). He wants your suggestions and questions for more news stories. Leave a comment for him here or e-mail Michael at Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > September > 03
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
State: Property values going up
The post below will differ slightly from the one that went up earlier. Here’s why: when I asked repeatedly what percentage change in property values were found in this year’s re-appraisal, Auditor Roger Reynolds told me no such number exists. The state said that number is a 5.95 percent increase in values, not the non-quantifiable decrease Reynolds announced.
HAMILTON — Notices going out this week from the Butler County Auditor’s Office will reflect an average 5.95 percent increase in appraised property values countywide, according to a property value reappraisal approved by the state last week.
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds said the specific increases and decreases in value differ substantially in different parts of the county. Middletown saw the slowest growth while Oxford saw the highest, he said.
The appraisals were determined by looking at home sales and 2006 and 2007 — but not 2005, when the housing bubble was still inflating — Reynolds said.
This is the last major adjustment to property values since 2005, and reflects a substantially slowed housing market, officials said.
“These are much smaller increases than we have observed in the past,” said Shelley Wilson, head of the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Equalization Division, adding that double-digit increases were recently the norm.
But increased property values don’t necessarily equate to a corresponding tax hike, Reynolds said; commercial growth is helping to shoulder the tax burden.
“Although we’re seeing just like everyone else (in Ohio) a reduction in residential values, our tax burden is being offset by a commercial growth to our tax base,” Reynolds said. “That gives a relief to our taxpayers.”
Reynolds doesn’t believe there will be a stampede of objections to the appraisals, though some people have voiced concerns that their appraised home values are going up while sale values have gone down.
Property owners can object to the county’s numbers at informal review schedule across the county. Dates and locations will be listed in the notice going out this week.
“I don’t know that what Butler County is seeing is different from smiliarly situated counties, said Ohio Department of Taxation Spokesman John Kohlstrand.
He said housing markets in rural counties are faring better than urban ones. Clermont County is looking at a 7.19 percent increase, he said, and Green County is estimating a 7.78 percent increase. Montgomery County is facing a .24 percent increase.
Reynolds: Property taxes going down
HAMILTON — Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds announced today, Sept. 3, that the average local homeowner will soon see his or her property taxes decrease.
Appraised property values are down countywide, Reynolds said, following a countywide re-appraisal conducted every three years and approved by the state this week.
This is a departure from previous estimates that property values may go up an average 6 to 9 percent countywide.
The county tweaked the formula this year to get this decrease, looking at 2006 and 2007 numbers but ignoring 2005, when the housing bubble was still inflating.
Reynolds said commercial growth is offsetting this housing decline to keep government coffers full. If that weren’t the case, tax millages would go up as home values declined.
“Although we’re seeing just like everyone else (in Ohio) a reduction in residential values, our tax burden is being offset by a commercial growth to our tax base,” Reynolds said. “That gives a relief to our taxpayers.”
The amount of home value decreases vary dramatically from area to area and house to house. In general, Middletown is seeing the largest home value and decline and Oxford is seeing the least decline.
Reynolds is scheduling town hall meetings across the county to explain the numbers to homeowners. Here is the schedule of those:
All meetings are 7-9 p.m., except for Middletown meetings, which are 6-8 p.m.
Monday, September 8, 2008
- Ross High School - Auditorium
- 3601 Hamilton Cleves Road
- Ross, OH
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
- Liberty Twp Administration Building
- 6400 Princeton Road
- Liberty Twp, OH 45011
Monday, September 22, 2008
- Hamilton Freshman School - Auditorium
- 2260 NW Washington Blvd.
- Hamilton, OH 45013
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Middletown Senior Center
- Conference Room
- 3907 Central Avenue
- Middletown, OH 45042
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
- Fairfield Community Arts Center - Community Room
- 411 Wessel Drive
- Fairfield, OH 45014
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
- West Chester Twp Hall - Township Hall
- 9113 Cincinnati Dayton Rd.
- West Chester, OH 45069
Thursday, October 2, 2008
- Lebanon Citizens National Bank - Oxford
- 30 Park Place
- Oxford, OH 45056
Post card from St. Paul/Minneapolis
Here’s another Butler Countian at the Republican National Convention. From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
Today’s postcard is from Colleen O’Kane of Urbana, a junior at the University of Dayton. O’Kane, 20, is as an intern for the John McCain campaign in Butler County and is among the 173 Ohio delegates to the convention in St. Paul-Minneapolis. She was asked about the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s daughter.
“I think it a situation that people can relate to. It’s something that our generation has dealt with. I admire the way the Palin family is handling the situation with tremendous grace, considering the pressure they have been put in. ”
O’Kane said she was proud the “Ohio delegation raised $20,000 Sunday for the Red Cross” for hurricane victims and “proud that they understand McCain’s motto: putting the country before our party.”
