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Man paid tax for years on land state took for roadway

Fairfield Twp. retiree unlikely to ever get his money back.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 2:38 AM Tuesday, August 17, 2010

FAIRFIELD TWP. — William Ramsey didn’t want the state taking some of his land to widen the road in front of his once-quiet Fairfield Twp. home. And when they did, he certainly didn’t want to keep paying taxes on land that was no longer his.

But that’s exactly what happened. And now it appears unlikely Ramsey can get back any of his money.

Ramsey, 72, built his modest home on the corner of Liberty-Fairfield and Princeton roads in the 1970s. When Liberty-Fairfield was widened a few years ago, the Ohio Department of Transportation took a 310-by-20-foot swath for a roadside easement.

Ramsey fought the eminent domain proceedings in 2002 and lost, though his attorney did get him more money for the land. He said ODOT told him the agency would handle the property issues.

It wasn’t until he took a closer look at his tax bill last year that he realized he was still being taxed on this land. He took the matter to the Board of Revision and had his taxes reduced $99.69 for the year.

That’s great, he said, and he then asked for his money back from the previous years. “By statute, the Board of Revision can’t go back on previous years,” said Deputy Auditor Mike Tilton.

After he was contacted for this story, Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds asked the county prosecutor if any state or local agency could refund this money.

Ramsey’s tax break was short-lived. When he received his tax bill this year, his taxes for 2009 went up $115.

Roughly $45 of this came from a new township fire levy. The rest was because the state adjusted the reduction factor on properties across the township, Tilton said.

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