Hamilton County Auditor Jessica Miranda visited the Golf Manor Village council meeting on July 7 to describe the auditor’s responsibilities, warn landlords about a local rental-scam trend and outline new online tools and outreach aimed at residents.

“Think of us as your chief financial officer of the county,” Hamilton County Auditor Jessica Miranda said, describing the auditor’s role in paying county bills, running payroll for “over 5,000 employees,” and administering programs tied to property records.

Miranda told the council the auditor’s office is the statutory agent for rental registration in Hamilton County and urged municipalities and residents to use the county’s property search to confirm landlord contact information. “I will tell you that the fee that we can assess is a $150,” she said, describing the enforcement charge the office can levy when a rental property lacks a required county registration.

She also reviewed two state-authorized property tax credits the office administers: the homestead exemption for some residents age 65 and older and the owner-occupancy credit available to homeowners who live in their property. Miranda said recent rule changes added income limits to the homestead exemption and that those limits have removed some older residents from the program. She urged local officials to contact state lawmakers to advocate for changes such as indexing the exemption to inflation or removing income caps.

Miranda described the county’s property valuation schedule and outreach steps: Hamilton County has more than 350,000 parcels; the office completed a mass reappraisal in 2023, expects a triennial update in 2026 and a next mass reappraisal in 2029. She said the auditor’s office also revamped its website with an accessibility plugin, a translation tool and a search bar, and has produced short videos and social media pages to help residents navigate the board-of-revision process.

On enforcement and municipal coordination, Miranda told the mayor and council that if the village identifies an unregistered rental property the county’s real estate team will confirm the status and contact the owner. She added that some municipalities have their own rental-registration fees; those local fees do not substitute for the county filing requirement and landlords must file with both local programs (if they exist) and the county.

During council questions, a member noted the village’s recent data on food-insecure residents and said outreach on the homestead credit could help older residents who are among the most vulnerable. Miranda offered the auditor’s community engagement team as a partner for local outreach and said residents and municipal staff may contact the auditor’s office for help and forms.

Miranda closed by offering contact information and thanking the council for the invitation. The auditor stayed for a short question-and-answer period with the council following the presentation.