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Mahoning posts tax amounts due on 166,000 land parcels
YOUNGSTOWN
New annual real- estate tax amounts for all 166,000 land parcels in Mahoning County have been posted on the county auditor’s website this week, Auditor Michael V. Sciortino said.
The target date for mailing first-half tax bills is Feb. 13 from the downtown Youngstown post office, and tax collection will close March 9, said county Treasurer Daniel R. Yemma.
New values for all parcels were posted on the auditor’s website last fall after the once-every-six-years comprehensive reappraisal of all county parcels.
Under the cloud of the national housing and economic crisis, countywide residential property values fell 7.4 percent in Mahoning County in that reappraisal.
The new taxes based on those values and tax rates in each community were not posted until this week because they had to be approved by the state, and the county auditor’s office had to verify their accuracy, Sciortino said Thursday.
Echoing remarks Sciortino had made earlier, Yemma urged taxpayers to pay their tax bills in full and on time to avoid penalties, even if they are appealing their new parcel value to the three-member Board of Revision. The deadline to appeal is March 31.
If the board lowers a parcel’s value because of an appeal, and lower taxes result, the auditor will issue a refund of any overpaid taxes, Yemma said.
Sciortino urged real- estate owners to go to one of the free meet-the-appraiser sessions beginning today at Oakhill Renaissance Place for an explanation of how the new valuation of their property was calculated based on its characteristics and condition and on recent actual sale prices for similar homes in the same neighborhood.
Based on that consultation, the residential or agricultural property owner can then make an informed decision whether to file an appeal with the revision board, Sciortino said.
The appraisers can explain a parcel’s valuation and how it was derived, but they will not be able to explain how the tax dollar figure was derived, Sciortino said.
In some cases, notably in parts of Youngstown and Coitsville Township, a parcel’s value may have declined, but the taxes on it may have risen because of state legislation that protects the amount of money to be generated by voted local levies, Sciortino said.
Those requiring more information may find it on the county’s website, www.mahoningcountyoh.gov, or call the county auditor’s or treasurer’s offices, Sciortino said.
“Our two offices have been communicating, and we’ve been communicating to our employees that we’re anticipating a higher than normal volume of calls because of the revaluation, and we’re talking to our employees about how to deal with it,” Yemma said.
The county tax bill printing and mailing is being done by United Mail of Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati, which was the lowest bidder at about $90,000 annually, with the printing being done in Cincinnati. That figure is $40,000 less than the cost in previous years, Yemma said.
Of the $90,000, postage accounts for almost $60,000 a year, he added.