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Columbiana Co. official considers 3rd tax billing
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Nick Barborak
The county treasurer said the county’s finances are in good shape.
LISBON — Columbiana County Treasurer Nick Barborak may send out three real-estate-tax bills this year.
Most property owners who pay the entire bill at once or those who pay in two installments a year wouldn’t be affected.
Barborak said a third collection would be aimed at owners who have not paid because of their financial problems.
The goal of a third collection, he said Wednesday, would be to get people who haven’t been paying to go on a payment plan.
That would help protect such homeowners from foreclosure, Barborak said.
The comments were part of a financial report to the county commissioners on the county’s finances.
“I’m confident the market will turn around. There’s consumer confidence.” Barborak said.
“There’s a lot of refinancing help with tax foreclosures,” he added.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it would take grant applications for a second round of almost $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds that would be awarded on a competitive basis to states, local governments and nonprofit housing developers to combat foreclosures.
On another financial matter, Barborak said the county was making between 0.5 percent and 2 percent interest by investing county revenue.
“The interest rates have not been so good,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s better to put your money in a box.”
But he has put county revenue into certificates of deposit with low but guaranteed returns.
“We haven’t lost anything,” he said.
In another economic move, the commissioners said they had $340,000 in notes in the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corporation, which works with six counties in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania.
The commissioners had been using the funds for various projects since 1995. The commissioners said they wanted to refinance the notes to get a lower interest rate so the money could be used for economic development projects.
Tracy Drake, the chief executive officer of the county Port Authority, said the funds were another tool in job creation.
wilkinson@vindy.com