County auditor outlines outreach on property-tax changes, homestead local option and digital services
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Summary
Butler County Auditor described outreach, IT projects and staffing pressures as the county, state and advocacy groups debate property-tax reform and homestead local-option changes; asked commissioners to expect continued communications demand.
Butler County Auditor Nancy briefed the commissioners on operations, outreach and the office—s role supporting taxpayers as property-tax policy debates proceed at the state level.
Nancy said the auditor—s office produced a white paper in May to model the consequences of major property-tax changes and participated in forums with lawmakers in Columbus. She said uncertainty over proposed elimination or large reform of property tax has led her office to prepare neutral explanatory materials and increase digital outreach including social posts and a YouTube channel. The office reported 2,500 Facebook followers and typical post reach in the tens of thousands for high-interest items such as school levies.
She said the office is working on homestead local-option notifications and that the recent mailings will generate substantial calls; she estimated roughly 11,000 taxpayers would receive local-option letters. Nancy said the auditor—s office had to process many grandfathering and homestead cases and was coordinating with the prosecutor and the Ohio legislature on statutory questions and requested continued patience from commissioners as staff manage the surge in inquiries.
On operations, Nancy outlined investments in automation: the office will go live with SmartFile for homestead and exemption filings in January, and the title division is moving to electronic processes and a new contract for passport and TSA precheck processing was under review. She said the office expects short-term personnel pressures because of retirements; personnel costs account for the bulk of the budget and the auditor said she will likely seek a higher-skill replacement role for finance staff who retire.
Nancy also noted the office waived about $2.7 million in fees last year for taxing districts and returned $148,000 to the county general fund. She said revenues and the county—s favorable fiscal position allowed the auditor—s office to perform outreach and waive fees in targeted cases.
Commissioners asked for the office to share models and outreach materials with county departments to coordinate messaging; Nancy said she would provide updated dashboards and would meet with the commissioners— offices to coordinate further communications ahead of any major ballot measures.