Cuyahoga County Treasurer Brad Grama updated the Committee of the Whole on Nov. 25 about the county's Taxpayer Assistance Program, a two-year pilot intended to help residents facing higher property tax valuations. Grama said the county received about 615 applications or inquiries in the program's first year and approved 150 applicants, with approximately $974,000 in approved allocations; county records returned from CHN totaled roughly $798,000 as part of reconciliation, and Grama later stated the program had distributed about $1,000,000 in assistance to date.

The program was funded as a DTAC initiative designed to be general revenue-neutral, with an initial two-year budget plan of about $5 million (roughly $2–2.5 million per year), including $2 million for direct assistance and $500,000 for housing counseling and administration. Under year-one eligibility, the county made up to $10,000 available per household for taxpayers age 70 and older with household income of $70,000 or less who were certified tax delinquent.

Grama said the county administered the first year in partnership with CHN Housing Partners, which processed applications through an online portal and routed approved applicants to HUD-certified housing counselors. He described several administrative challenges in year one: a delayed program start (operational in January 2025), CHN's data-sharing and system-access limitations that lengthened processing time, difficulties with online-only intake for some seniors, and reconciliation problems related to advancing funds and later receiving them back from CHN.

To address those issues, the county decided in October to end CHN's role as program administrator effective Oct. 31. CHN will remain a counseling partner, Grama said, but the county will bring administration in-house and use existing staff in the delinquent-tax outreach and treasurer's office. The county plans several year-two changes to take effect for applicants applying on or after Jan. 1:

- Lower the age threshold from 70 to 67 to expand eligibility; Grama said this better aligns distribution dates used for other programs.

- Allow online or in-person applications (the Financial Empowerment Center opening on the building's first floor next year will provide a physical intake point).

- Stop requiring separate demographic and income paperwork for initial inquiry by leveraging the Homestead office's existing verification process.

- Make payments directly via ledger adjustments applied to taxpayers' county accounts so approved assistance posts to tax bills in near real time rather than awaiting third-party reconciliation.

Grama told council members the county expects to realize roughly $250,000 in administrative savings in year two by reassigning existing staff and relying on contracted counseling partners to provide counseling rather than paying an outside administrator for the full intake and disbursement process.

Council members asked substantive follow-up questions during an extended Q&A. Councilman Kelly pressed whether CHN's privacy concerns drove the data-sharing delays; Grama replied that CHN's privacy precautions and concerns about exposing personally identifiable information were part of the challenge, and that CHN will continue as a counseling partner but not as program administrator. Kelly also asked about the additional cost of bringing administration in-house; Grama said the county expects only de minimis staff-time costs and will use existing resources.

Several council members questioned how penalties and interest were handled while applications were pending. Tory Berry of the treasurer's delinquent-tax outreach team said the county's policy was to abate the penalties and interest that accrued between the time an applicant applied and the time the county processed the application, a measure intended to prevent processing delays from increasing the burden on applicants. Grama said penalties remain abatable through a penalty remission request process, and the county's interpretation of the Ohio Revised Code, with concurrence of the treasurer and auditor, allows for waiving interest in certain circumstances.

Grama said the county will process a surge of new inquiries in January after clearing outstanding applications and will continue seeking outside funding and banking partners to match or supplement the pilot funds. He said the county has not yet exhausted available funds and encouraged eligible residents to apply under the expanded parameters.