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Prosecutor to seek attorney general opinion on which office controls county tax mapping
Summary
Prosecutor Bill Danzo said the county will request an attorney general opinion to resolve whether tax-map drafting and GIS duties belong to the county engineer or the auditor; commissioners discussed meeting both offices first and continuing current budgeting to limit audit exposure.
Trumbull County’s prosecutor told commissioners on Jan. 28 that staff will prepare a request for an attorney general opinion to clarify which office should control tax-map drafting and related GIS functions.
Bill Danzo of the prosecutor’s office said a 2019 attorney general opinion directed that tax-map drafting belong under the county engineer and that related salaries should be paid from the general fund rather than special funds. "The opinion from 2019 makes it very clear that the tax map department is to be controlled, operated under the engineer, not the auditor," Danzo said. He added that the 2019 opinion leaves unclear the dividing line between tax-map drafting and other GIS work performed in the auditor’s office, creating the present dispute.
Commissioners discussed whether to try a joint meeting with the engineer and auditor to negotiate duties before seeking the formal opinion. Danzo advised that the attorney general’s office can sometimes provide an informal, quicker opinion, though formal published opinions typically take several months. He also recommended continuing to pay affected staff from the general fund in the 2025 budget year to reduce audit exposure and potential demands for refund to special funds.
Why it matters: The allocation of statutory duties affects which office has operational control and which fund must pay specific positions; auditors and engineers perform overlapping GIS functions in many counties, and the choice can affect budgeting and audit compliance.
Next steps: Prosecutor Danzo said he will work with the engineer and auditor to draft a narrowly focused opinion request; commissioners agreed to pursue a meeting first in hopes of resolving the dispute without protracted formal opinion delays. No formal policy change or personnel action was taken at the workshop.
