The state legislature sets the fee that county auditors collect from levy funds to pay for calculating and distributing real estate tax collections to local governments and much of the real estate operations of county auditor offices. If the fees exceed costs to administer the levies, the auditor is required to give a refund.
The areas with higher property taxes see more of the return, but the percentage is equal. The school districts will receive a total of $2.17 million; Butler County entities like the Developmental Disabilities Board and others with levies will receive a total of $487,954; the 13 townships get $391,404; municipalities will receive $163,910; vocational schools will receive $107,900 and libraries and parks will receive $74,609.
The majority of county auditors do not give annual refunds, instead distributing them every six years at reappraisal time.
“I see it differently, I don’t want to build that fund and wait six years, I want to get those dollars back to the entities as quick as possible,” Reynolds told the Journal-News. “Because it may be the difference between an entity deciding if they need to go for a levy or not.”
The Lakota Schools received the largest refund of any jurisdiction, at $835,228.
“We will be able to utilize this to help offset some of the additional costs we have incurred during the pandemic,” Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan said.
Reynolds said his office is operating with fewer people, which contributed to the larger refund amounts. When he took office, there were 74 staffers, and today there are 34. Many of the staff did not have both accounting and real estate expertise the office needed. Utilizing technology and hiring qualified people allowed him to trim staffing.
“I’ve continued to cut staff, I’ve reduced staff by six people over the past two years in real estate,” Reynolds said. “That’s the big reason. There’s more money available because we’ve continued to cut our costs.”
Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan said Reynolds’ operation is unique because he does all the work in-house as opposed contracting out appraisals. Nolan said he refunded $3.75 million to local governments last year, on top of the $2.75 million jurisdictions saved because he didn’t collect the entire allowable fee for the services.
Nolan said since his costs are basically fixed, so he knows exactly how much he needs to cover contract costs each year. He then builds in a cushion for contingencies, and charges accordingly. Reynolds’ costs are subject to change because he pays his own staff salaries and benefits to do the work, but he can also change staffing which he has done.
“Roger’s unique to take that on in-house, there can be a lot of savings, there are definitely headaches,” Nolan said adding both he and Reynolds have the same goal in the end. “We just take in less than we could, so it stays in the hands of the local governments that need it more than we do.”
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