Mahoning County officials have started a property tax review required by a new Ohio law. The measure was sponsored by state Representative David Thomas and took effect in March, according to WKBN. Mahoning County began the process on Monday.
The county budget commission is conducting its first formal in-person meetings after previously handling the matter informally. Its members are the county auditor, treasurer and prosecutor. More than 65 organizations that receive property tax revenue are scheduled to take part, among them schools, townships, libraries and fire departments.
The commission is examining balance sheets and tracking reserve funds. County Auditor Ralph Meacham said the concern is that growing reserves at levying entities could mean taxpayers are paying more than operations require. He acknowledged that some reserves are reasonable, such as saving for a fire truck, but said excessive reserves suggest levies may exceed actual needs.
The commission now has authority to potentially lower levies, something it lacked previously. Meacham described the aim as adding oversight to ensure recipients take what is sufficient, not too much. He called the process positive for taxpayers.
About 10 groups met with the commission Monday, and WKBN reported the meetings will take several weeks to complete.