COLUMBIANA COUNTY Reappraisal forces taxes to increase 8 percent

Proposed legislation could change the way real estate values are set.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County Auditor Nancy Milliken and the Ohio Department of Taxation have reached an agreement over the county's real estate tax increases.
Taxes overall will go up 8 percent starting in 2005. That's the increase in value since the last reappraisal three years ago.
The figure is misleading somewhat, however, because there is no across-the-board tax increase.
Milliken and state Sen. Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool, R-1st, announced Tuesday the results of talks between the county and state, which had been pushing for higher increases.
Because of the mandatory reappraisal, increases by category are residential property, 8.1 percent; agricultural property, 13.2 percent; commercial property, 11.4 percent, and industrial property, 0.4 percent.
Taxes are assessed on 35 percent of the property's value. The actual taxes owners will pay will depend on the condition of their property and which of the county's 55 taxing districts the property is in.
Destroyed values
As an offshoot of the negotiations between the state and county, Blasdel said he will introduce legislation to remove destroyed property values from the state's future calculations. Destroyed property value is the value of a house or shed or building that no longer exists.
Blasdel said the state has been using the destroyed values in its calculations of real estate values in all Ohio counties.
The destroyed value went into the new county's values. The result is that value of the destroyed properties is absorbed by remaining properties, which results in slightly higher taxes.
Blasdel credited Milliken's knowledge of the state's tax system for bringing the problem to light.
Increase
The state originally wanted an 11 percent overall increase while Milliken's figures showed a slightly more than 7 percent increase.
The state then offered 0.8 percent increase above Milliken's figures before they agreed to a 0.7 percent increase over her estimates.
The drop to 0.7 percent alone, Milliken said, will save taxpayers about $900,000.
The state has verbally approved the rates but must formally approve them. Then the auditor's office will compute the new values of all the properties.
The county has 77,000 parcels, but some, such as state land, are tax exempt.
Milliken said she planned to mail the values of 65,000 parcels to about 32,250 people in about a month.
The auditor plans to then have meetings in each township to explain the new values.
The new values will then go to the county treasurer's office, which will send out tax bills early in 2005.
wilkinson@vindy.com