Mahoning County commissioners elect leadership; auditor flags reassessment-driven tax increases and $72 million in delinquencies

Mahoning County Board of Commissioners members on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, elected their 2025 leadership, appointed acting clerks and set a regular meeting schedule, and heard a financial report from County Auditor Ralph Stevens that outlined recent revenue trends, a property reassessment that increased residential assessed values about 38% and roughly $72 million in delinquent property taxes.

The reorganizational votes moved unanimously. Commissioners nominated Commissioner Trafficante as board president and Commissioner Remedio Righetti as vice president, confirmed Nancy LeBlanc as clerk of the board, appointed Holly Muschino Gushch as the first acting clerk and named a second acting clerk (name not specified). The board also set regular meetings for Thursdays at 10 a.m. in the commissioners' hearing room in the courthouse basement.

Stevens told the commissioners the county's producer sales tax has increased for several years and that a road tax adopted in 2021 — with first collections showing in 2022 — has funded road projects the auditor described as “shovel ready.” He said year-end balances for 2024 were about $34.6 million for the general fund and $28 million for the justice fund and that revenues have generally exceeded expenditures on a GAAP basis in recent years.

Stevens described the county's recent property reassessment as causing a roughly 38% increase in residential assessed values countywide. He said the assessment shift, together with a state rule known as the 20-mill floor tied to House Bill 920, has produced much larger inside-millage increases than inflation, and that those increases have amplified property-tax bills in many districts.

“We had a 38% increase in assessed values last year,” Stevens said. “The road tax has been very positive for the county,” he added, describing how road-tax receipts are divided among townships and projects. Stevens also said the county currently shows about $71.9 million in delinquent taxes, roughly 18% of the total, and that the City of Youngstown accounts for about 23,600 delinquent parcels.

Stevens outlined several policy priorities he said county auditors' associations favor: limiting growth of fixed-rate levies subject to the 20-mill floor, expanding the homestead exemption, granting county auditors greater authority in valuation, and revamping credits such as the nonbusiness credit and the owner-occupancy credit. He also flagged a conveyance-fee issue tied to some LLC transactions that can obscure sale prices and reduce county receipts.

The auditor announced a new county website tool called Pivot Point to modernize property searches, sales reports and tax estimators; Stevens said the rollout was cost-neutral relative to the system it replaces and that additional functionality would appear in the coming weeks.

During a brief Q&A after the presentation, a commissioner asked for further breakdowns of Youngstown tax payments by taxing district; Stevens said the county could provide figures by taxing district.

The reorganizational votes and the auditor's presentation were the substantive items at the meeting; no other formal policy actions were taken.

Looking ahead, Stevens urged state action on property-tax relief measures he said would assist seniors and taxpayers facing rapidly rising assessments, and commissioners confirmed the board will continue regular Thursday morning meetings to consider county business.