Franklin County auditors outline Hilliard property-value update; tentative values posted June 9

Beth Fermany, director of community outreach at the Franklin County Auditor's Office, told the Hilliard City Council on May 11 that the county will publish tentative property values on the "Know Your Home Value" website on June 9 as part of the statutorily required triennial update.

"June 9th is when the Know Your Home Value website will be updated with your tentative values," Fermany said. She said every property owner received a postcard about the process and that mailed notices with individual tentative values will follow. Owners who disagree can schedule a property-value review with the auditor's office between July and September, in person or virtually; values are expected to be finalized in December.

The auditors emphasized the update relies primarily on arm's-length sales data rather than visual exterior inspections for most properties. "We have to do this every three years per the state law," Fermany said, adding the goal is to "reflect most accurately the property-value changes in the current real estate market." Joe Gilligan, director of policy for the office, summarized the valuation approach as a statistical method based on medians: "I think this is sort of a statistical endeavor of sorts ... the median value ... is sort of right in the middle."

Council members and attendees pressed staff about why values rise dramatically in some neighborhoods and hardly at all in others. Gilligan said medians can be skewed by high-end sales and that local housing-stock differences and how appraisal neighborhoods are delineated also affect results. Auditors advised homeowners to use the website's comparison tools (for example, to view a neighbor's tentative value) and to provide documentation, such as permit records or photos, if they request a review.

Auditors acknowledged data gaps flagged by attendees; staff said they would check apparent missing sales records for certain subdivisions and follow up. The office also explained that how areas with no recent sales are handled would require further review by the appraisal data team.

The council was not asked to vote on the update. The auditors encouraged residents to open the mailed notices when they arrive and to contact the auditor's office if they believe their tentative value is incorrect.