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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > October > 23 > Entry
Clarifying claims in muddy auditor race
The following story is in our paper today — what do you think? Who do you believe?
BUTLER COUNTY — Democratic challenger Jack Zettler claims that incumbent Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds lowered his taxable property values while raising them for many other homeowners and tried to cover it up when Zettler caught wind of it.
Reynolds vehemently denies this and says Zettler’s claims prove he is unfit for the job of auditor.
Zettler, running against Reynolds in the Nov. 4 election, made his claims about Reynolds’ conduct in a flier that hit mailboxes across the county last week. Reynolds responded with a letter demanding Zettler stop making such claims or face a lawsuit.
Here are the facts: The auditor’s office has Reynolds’ home at 6724 Cherry Laurel Drive in Liberty Twp. appraised at $535,200. This is a decrease of $1,280 from its 2007 value.
Of the 50 homes in Reynolds’ neighborhood, his was one of 11 that decreased in value, according to the auditor’s office. The rest increased.
But this is an increase of $87,700 from the $447,500 Reynolds paid for the house in April. Reynolds said he bought it from a broker and it was on the market 240 days before the purchase. The house previously sold for $591,500 in November 2007.
The house Reynolds moved out of, at 7306 Pebble Creek in Liberty Twp., which he still owns, went up $28,080 to $218,310, according to the auditor’s office appraisal records. And a house at 708 S. Main St. in Oxford that Reynolds said he owns with his brother ballooned $96,500 in taxable value to $201,630.
Home values in Oxford have skyrocketed in recent years as increasing numbers of people subdivided and rented rooms to students at a profit, according to officials with Tyler Technologies, the agency that conducted the appraisal.
Zettler’s home at 1301 Briarwood Drive in Hamilton went up $46,560 to $417,880, according to auditor’s office records. Auditor’s office staff said this is partly because his home is recorded as farmland because he breeds horses, and a change in state rules caused all agricultural properties to increase in value.
Other properties owned by the Hamilton attorney went down in taxable value.
Of the 10 parcels listed in Zettler’s name on the auditor’s office Web site — all in Hamilton — the appraised value of five was reduced by a total $12,190. However, the total taxable value of Zettler’s properties increased from $2.9 million to $3.3 million.
So both candidates saw decreases on some of their properties and increases on others. And like the average homeowner in Butler County, Zettler and Reynolds saw the taxable value of their houses go up while sale values dropped.
Zettler: Reynolds gave ‘sweet deals’ to political friends
Zettler also claims Reynolds gave a sweet deal to his Republican supporters and allies.
But a review of Butler County auditor’s office tax records for houses owned by prominent Republicans found that some went down in value, and others went up. The same is true for prominent local Democrats.
Zettler’s flier singled out Butler County Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, whose home at 520 Oakwood Drive in Hamilton dropped $4,100 to $251,460. Meanwhile, two neighboring properties with similar homes on them went up 20 percent in value.
“That is a sweet deal for Mr. Jolivette and a sour deal for his neighbors,” Zettler said. “Our postcard shows the homes. There appears to be little difference in the type of home involved. Readers should take a look and judge for themselves.”
Auditor’s office officials responded that 27 of the 37 houses in Jolivette’s subdivision went down in value. They said the homes that went up in value were thousands of square feet larger than Jolivette’s.
Jolivette also pointed out that the taxable value of his hot dog drive-in Jolly’s went up $17,970.
Jolivette said he is infuriated by Zettler’s claim and that the Democrat “may have set the record for a new low.”
“He has until Election Day to publicly apologize to me, and after that he might as well not waste his breath because it’s not going to mean anything,” Jolivette said. “I will continue to have complete and utter disrespect for his character.”
Reynolds said Zettler’s claims “crossed a legal line.”
“There are no ‘deals,’ ” Reynolds said. “Zettler’s claim is without merit and crosses into libel.”
Other local leaders who saw decreases to their home values include Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Daniel Gattermeyer. The value of the Democrat’s house went down $2,400 to $293,830. John Holcomb, former chairman of the Democratic Party in Butler County and the only Democrat on the Butler County Board of Elections, saw the value of his house drop $23,410.
While some Republicans’ house values went down, as Zettler alleges, others went up, including County Commissioner Charles Furmon, whose house is appraised at $238,590, a $21,740 increase.
“I never said every one of his political allies got a break, neither have I said that every well-known Democrat got an increase,” Zettler said. “I just know that the average homeowner in Butler County had to live with unfair appraisals.
“I believe Reynolds could have done more to fight the unfairness,” Zettler said. “I would have not certified the flawed appraisals.”
The average home in Butler County went up 5.95 percent in value this year in the tentative appraisal approved by the state in September. Reynolds said his staff will review the property values of anyone who contests them by the end of November and has lowered many values already.
Appraisals are based on many factors, according to auditor’s office staff, including sales of comparable homes in 2006 and 2007, square footage, condition of the property and attractiveness of the neighborhood to potential buyers. Officials said they used the same criteria for appraising homes this year that they have in previous years.
Reynolds explains info change
Zettler also claims that Reynolds tried to cover up the effort to lower his property value.
Zettler’s campaign captured an image on Sept. 23 from the auditor’s office Web site that shows a decrease of $20,720 on Reynolds’ new house. The value was changed on the site Oct. 6, days after Zettler publicly challenged Reynolds about his property value drop.
Deputy Auditor Michael Tilton said the wrong property valuation information was on the auditor’s Web site for thousands of homes on Sept. 23, and it was changed Oct. 6 to clear up misconceptions by Zettler and others.
All of this stems from problems the Butler County auditor’s office had with appraising residential incentive districts (RIDs), Tilton said. In these districts, created by local governments, home values are split into two values to allocate more money to local townships.
Reynolds home is in a RID, and part of his home value is locked at $499,740 while the other part goes up or down with the market. That other part was down $20,720 on Sept. 23.
The auditor’s office appraises all homes using two approaches: cost of construction and market value. But only one of these factors was taken into account when letters went out on Sept. 19 to owners of property in residential incentive districts, Reynolds said. He said a second letter had to be sent to 1,223 property owners on Oct. 6 clarifying this.
By Sept. 23, the appraisal company, Tyler Technologies, Inc., hadn’t updated the information on the site, and that info was wrong on all 2,488 parcels in RIDs in Butler County, Tilton said.
He and Louis Caldwell, Ohio area manager for Tyler Technologies, said Reynolds’ property value had never changed from $535,200, the amount based on market research.
“If he (Reynolds) had not been in a RID district, we would not have this issue,” Tilton said.
Tilton said the property values on the Web site are tentative, and often change when someone contests a value or when there’s an error.
“That amount could go up and down up and down 20 times over the entire reappraisal process,” he said.
Tilton said he started receiving numerous phone calls from Butler County residents complaining that property value notices they received by mail differed from property values listed on the auditor’s Web site. He also got calls about Reynolds’ property dropping in value.
So Tilton combined the locked property value and the value that changed for houses in residential incentive districts into one amount on the Web site to clear up any confusion.
But Zettler questions whether the auditor’s office tried to correct its mistake on Oct. 6, or cover its tracks.
“I believe that taxpayers should be very concerned about their increase when taxman Reynolds treated himself to a nice reduction, then denies the fact and tries to hide the public record when he’s caught red-handed, then changes that public record to his political benefit,” Zettler said.
Reynolds admits there were mistakes made by the appraisal firm. But the only involvement he had was to direct the auditor’s staff to lower values for all homes as much as possible, Reynolds said.
“The appraisal process has been ongoing for almost three years and was virtually complete when I took office this past April,” Reynolds said. “I have never influenced even one property’s valuation.”
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: County Auditor
Comments
By Jim
October 23, 2008 12:23 PM | Link to this
According to Mike Tilton, Reynolds’ chief deputy, the tax values can “go up and down up and down 20 times over the entire reappraisal process.” Now that’s a real confidence builder. Must be Rodger the Dodger the Carnival Barker, “Ladies and gentlemen, please step up, come in and play the tax valuation game. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows.” Please vote for Zettler, let’s put an end to the charades.
By Bill
October 23, 2008 3:29 PM | Link to this
Go to the Journal’s Q&A with the two candidates and watch it. One candidate is professional and knowledgeable, the other bumbles and stutters and is completely unprepared. Judge for yourself who is the better candidate for auditor.
By Tony
October 23, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this
I would like to echo Jim’s comments, and further state that how are the citizens of this county suppose to have confidence in their government (specifically the auditor’s office) when the measure of success is “we get it right by the 20th time!” It’s pathetic, and it’s went on and on for way too long. VOTE ZETTLER!
By Joe The Plumber
October 24, 2008 9:29 PM | Link to this
OKay Bill, let’s see how you’re thinking. Just because somebody looks smooth, they are better? I’d judge based on what they have done for me. Reynolds raised my tax valuation. He lowered his, then changed the records when he got caught. I am thinking that Zettle is going to blow the whistle on people who misuse our tax dollars. Rodger the Dodger changes the records to suit his needs. Sounds like a no brainer to me. Maybe Zettler isn’t as slick as the pretty boy who stars in his own public service commercials, but I believe he’s better for the taxpayers.
By Joe The Plumber
October 24, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this
OKay Bill, let’s see how you’re thinking. Just because somebody looks smooth, they are better? I’d judge based on what they have done for me. Reynolds raised my tax valuation. He lowered his, then changed the records when he got caught. I am thinking that Zettle is going to blow the whistle on people who misuse our tax dollars. Rodger the Dodger changes the records to suit his needs. Sounds like a no brainer to me. Maybe Zettler isn’t as slick as the pretty boy who stars in his own public service commercials, but I believe he’s better for the taxpayers.
By concerned
October 27, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this
interesting, looks like Jim’s value went down, even thought it was already less then what he paid for it?
By Rockie
October 29, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this
The issue to me is not whose values went up or down. It’s the stupidty of trying to tell people their homes are worth more than they can sell them for. Right now you can’t give property away, yet old Roger has increased the value of everyone’s property. I’m for giving Zettler a chance to clean this mess up and if he can’t do it then throw him out in three years.
By Joe The Plumber
November 2, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this
Rockie I think you nailed it. Reynolds tried buying votes by rolling over for anybody willing to call him for a lower appraisal. I had a few of my friends call him and there was never an arguement or any need for justification. Reynolds people dropped prices without any hassels so he’ll be a hero to them. I doubt his “good deals for anybody calling” will work since there are far more who just stayed quiet and will vote Zettler to fix the problem permenently. I even heard Zettler is going to sue the state if elected to block the new tax figures from going into effect. He’s an attorney so that sounds like a good idea to me. The only person Reynolds wants to sue it Zettler for telling us what Reynolds did for his own house.