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Later deadline for tax-value appeals
YOUNGSTOWN
Landowners who wish to appeal their real-estate values to the Mahoning County Board of Revision will get a little more time to do so this year.
Because the usual March 31 annual deadline for such appeals falls on a Saturday this year, appeals will be accepted if they are received by the county auditor’s office before 4:30 p.m. April 2. The appeal forms must be notarized before they are filed.
The appeal process is available to those who believe the value assigned to their property in the once-every-six-years comprehensive real-estate reappraisal completed last year is inaccurate.
The revaluation resulted in an overall decline of 4.2 percent in the Mahoning County real-estate value and a 7.4 percent drop in the overall residential real-estate value countywide over the six-year period.
As of March 14, there were 236 appeals filed, the county auditor’s office said. Hearings on the appeals before the three-member board will begin this summer.
Bob Rimedio, chief appraiser in the auditor’s office, said he did not know when this year’s series of appeal hearings will end or how long it will take the board to rule on the appeals. Those time frames will depend on the number and complexity of appeals filed, he said.
Residential and agricultural property owners who want a free consultation with an appraiser concerning their real-estate values may visit the Oakhill Renaissance Place auditorium, 345 Oak Hill Ave., using Entrance A, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through March 30.
In the individual consultations, the appraisers explain how the value was derived based on the characteristics and condition of the property and on recent sale prices for similar properties in the same neighborhood.
No appointments are required for residential and agricultural property owners, but commercial and industrial real-estate owners are asked to call 330-740-7909 for an appointment with a commercial appraiser.
Auditor Michael V. Sciortino said the consultation may help a property owner make an informed decision whether to appeal to the revision board, which consists of a representative of the auditor’s, treasurer’s and commissioners’ offices.
About 800 appeals were filed last year, but the board has not yet issued decisions in all of them. Due to requests for postponements or the inability to serve notices on parties, some hearings had to be rescheduled, Rimedio explained.
Rimedio said it is unknown how many more appeals will be filed before this year’s deadline.