Hamilton County auditor outlines property-tax relief, rental registration and new website at Cleves Village Council meeting
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Summary
Hamilton County Auditor Jessica Miranda presented her office's duties, urged reform of the homestead exemption, described expanded website accessibility and tools, and explained rental registration and other county services. She fielded residents' questions about board-of-revision timing and eligibility.
Jessica Miranda, Hamilton County auditor, briefed the Cleves Village Council on programs the auditor's office administers and changes meant to help residents access property-tax information.
Miranda told the council and audience the auditor's office is the county's chief financial officer and real property assessor for roughly 350,000 parcels. She described two state-authorized tax-relief programs the office administers: the homestead exemption for qualifying seniors and the owner-occupancy credit, which she said provides a 2.5% credit to homeowners who occupy their primary residence. Miranda warned that changes to the homestead income cap have sharply reduced participation: she said approved applications fell from about 14,000 previously to just over 2,000, and offered to supply exact figures by email.
Miranda showed a three-area comparison of a $236,000 house to explain why the same property can produce very different tax bills, and stressed that differences are driven by which levies are passed in each jurisdiction. "You have to follow the exemptions or not," she said, describing how local levies and state calculations interact.
The auditor announced a redesigned county-auditor website with an accessibility plug-in, a translation button, and an improved search bar to make property summaries and the board-revision process easier to find. She said the board-revision (BOR) filing window opens Jan. 1 and closes March 30 each year and that homeowners must file BOR complaints themselves; council members may not file on another owner's behalf.
Miranda highlighted weights-and-measures work (consumer protection at gas pumps and grocery scales), dog licensing (season begins Dec. 1) and a "Top Dog" youth outreach program at 3 Rivers Elementary intended to increase licensing compliance. She also warned of scammers collecting deposits from would-be renters and advised residents to check the auditor's rental-registration data on the website to verify landlords.
Questions from residents focused on how and when to file BOR cases, whether clusters of nearby homeowners must file separately, and whether long-term winter residents qualify for owner-occupancy benefits. Miranda repeatedly emphasized that the homeowner must submit the BOR complaint and that the auditor's office can provide printed forms and assistance for people who are not online.
The presentation closed with Miranda urging residents to contact state lawmakers to press for reforms to the homestead exemption, which she and the County Auditors Association have advocated to index for inflation or otherwise expand.