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Assessor: new-construction growth has added about $422,000 to Franklin County budget; recording fees and open‑space changes noted
Summary
Assessor John Rosenau told commissioners the county benefited from new-construction assessments that have added hundreds of thousands to the tax base; the assessor also explained several revenue pass-throughs and a recent state change to current-use payback rules.
John Rosenau, Franklin County assessor, presented the assessor's office preliminary budget at the Oct. 13 workshop and emphasized two revenue drivers: fee pass-throughs and new-construction increases.
Rosenau said the county's parcel processing and TIF work generated revenues the office bills out to cities and the port; he reported $1,314,000 this year for work done for two taxing jurisdictions. He also explained that some fees the assessor's office collects — such as recording fees tied to current-use removals — are pass-throughs credited to the treasurer's general ledger rather than recorded as department revenue in the assessor's internal accounting.
"Recording fees are a pass through," Rosenau said. He described the process and told commissioners that the assessor's office shows the fee as an expense while the treasurer credits the money on the treasurer's ledger.
New construction and current-use changes
Rosenau provided a multi-year view of new construction that he said increased the county's budgeted base by $422,000 in the 2025 budget year. "The dollar amount for this year in the '25 budget... new construction was $422,000," he said. He summarized the cumulative effect since he took office: new construction added roughly $2,079,000 to the county's budget over several years.
Rosenau also described state changes to the agricultural current-use payback rule: property owners coming out of current‑use now owe a four-year rollback plus interest (down from seven years). He said collections tied to that change brought $1,034,024 in extra income to taxing districts in 2024 and $736,000 year-to-date through Oct. 1, 2025; the county retains interest collected from those paybacks.
Why it matters
Rosenau said new construction is a key, recurring revenue source that can raise the county's assessed base without raising rates. At the same time, he urged conservative revenue estimates for sales tax and explained how assessor work is embedded in inter-jurisdictional billing.
Ending
Rosenau told commissioners the assessor's office will try to keep departmental spending tight but asked the board to recognize the volatility of postage, copier usage and other operational costs when they review the office's detailed line items.
