Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Allowable expenditures from the real
estate assessment fund include the costs incurred by the county auditor
described in paragraph (B) of this rule and, at the discretion of the county
auditor, the costs incurred by the county auditor described in paragraph (C) of
this rule, and the costs incurred by the county board of revision under Chapter
5715. of the Revised Code.
(B)
Allowable expenditures by the county auditor from the real estate assessment
fund consist of all costs incurred by the auditor related to the assessment of
real property for taxation purposes, whether for the determination of "true
value in money" or "true value" of all real property as defined in paragraph
(A) of rule
5703-25-05 of the Administrative
Code, or for the determination of "current agricultural use value of land" as
defined in paragraph (B)(2) of rule
5703-25-30 of the Administrative
Code, and for the assessment of manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real
property under division (D)(2) of section
4503.06 of the Revised Code.
Allowable expenditures may be made for the following:
(1) Contracts for the professional services
of an appraiser, which includes contracts for a complete or partial appraisal,
either for a sexennial reappraisal, triennial update, annual maintenance, or
for any other special appraisal contract, for the appraisal of manufactured or
mobile homes taxed like real property, and for any appraisal consulting
contracts.
(2) Contracts for the
preparation of tax maps, which includes, but is not limited to, pilot projects,
aerial photography, and the complete computerized appraisal mapping program
with digital map files.
(3)
Contracts, in whole or in part, for the purchase or lease of computer hardware
and software, and the maintenance thereof, including consulting contracts
related to the same, used in the real property assessment process.
(a) Computers purchased or leased pursuant to
this paragraph can be used to store property record card data, to update
property values statistically, to print various abstracts of real property
values, to type and print various valuation notices and taxpayer letters, and
to perform other assessment-related functions.
(b) In the case where the computer contract
is for both assessment-related and nonassessment-related goods or services, the
portion of computer hardware, software, maintenance, and consulting costs
related to assessment purposes may be determined based on the percentage of
time used for assessment-related purposes, on the percentage of disc space
utilized for assessment-related activities, or a combination of both items, or
on any other reasonable method. The applicable apportionment method is subject
to the approval of the tax commissioner, which shall be final.
(4) In-house assessment-related
expenses of the county auditor, in whole or in part, for real property,
machinery, equipment, supplies, vehicles, utilities, and employee salaries and
benefits. Costs for property, utilities, and personnel used for both assessment
and nonassessment purposes may be paid out of the real estate assessment fund
to the extent that they are allocable to the assessment-related use. Costs for
property, utilities, and personnel can only be considered as
assessment-related, if the property, utility, or person is used directly in the
real estate assessment process, or used directly in the assessment of
manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property.
(5) The cost to implement a permanent parcel
numbering system.
(6) The cost to
attend assessment-related seminars, continuing education courses, and
conferences.
(7) The cost to update
plat books and property record cards.
(8) Appraisal costs incurred by the county
auditor to support values for real property and manufactured or mobile homes
taxed like real property in administrative or judicial proceedings.
(9) The cost to prepare and print the real
property tax list, the exempt real property list, the agricultural land tax
list, and the portion of the manufactured home tax list that relates to the
manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property.
(10) Costs related to real property and
manufactured or mobile home transfers.
(11) Costs incurred by the county auditor for
the in-house preparation of tax maps.
(12) Costs related to the imaging or
sketching of real property, and manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real
property, on any medium.
(13) Costs
to prepare and print various abstracts of real property values, valuation
notices, and taxpayer letters.
(14)
Costs related to the application and determination process for the current
agricultural use valuation program described in sections
5713.31 to
5713.38 of the Revised
Code.
(C) Other expenses
allowable from the real estate assessment fund, at the discretion of the county
auditor, may be divided into two categories: costs associated with activities
of the county auditor related to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof
by the county auditor; and costs associated with activities of the county
auditor not related to real estate at all.
(1) Costs associated with activities related
to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor,
include costs incurred by the auditor for the following activities:
(a) Costs in preparing the tax list of real
and public utility property.
(b)
Costs in administering laws related to the taxation of real property, which
include, but are not limited to, calculation of tax rates and taxes,
preparation and printing of the tax duplicate and the delinquent tax lists and
reports, tax settlement between county auditor and county treasurer, and
distributions of tax settlements.
(c) Costs in administering laws related to
the levying of special assessments on real property.
(d) Costs in administering the tax reduction
factors and the ten per cent rollback under Chapter 319. of the Revised
Code.
(e) Costs in administering
the homestead exemption on real property and the two and one-half percent
rollback on real property and manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real
property under Chapter 323. of the Revised Code.
(f) Costs in administering the homestead
exemption on manufactured or mobile homes under section
4503.065 of the Revised
Code.
(g) Nonappraisal costs to
support values of real property in any administrative or judicial
proceeding
(h) Costs for geographic
information systems, mapping programs, and technological advances in those or
similar systems or programs.
(2) Costs associated with activities not
related to real estate, occurring in the county auditor's office, include costs
incurred by the auditor for the following activities:
(a) Costs in compiling the general tax list
of tangible personal property and administering tangible personal property
taxes under Chapters 5711. and 5719. of the Revised Code, which include, but
are not limited to, processing tangible personal property tax returns,
assessing tangible personal property, and compiling the tangible personal
property tax duplicates.
(b)
Costs, expenses, and fees in the administration of estate taxes under Chapter
5731. of the Revised Code.
(D) Expenditures not allowable from the real
estate assessment fund may be divided into two categories: costs associated
with activities of the county auditor related to real estate, but not to the
assessment thereof by the county auditor; and costs associated with activities
of the county auditor not related to real estate at all.
(1) Costs associated with activities related
to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor,
include, but are not limited to, costs for the following activities:
(a) Preparation and printing of the tax bills
and the daily payment journal;
(b)
The appraisal of real property for purposes other than the determination of
current, true market value; for example, to determine the historical value or
insurance value of county buildings;
(c) The county auditor's salary, pursuant to
section 325.01 of the Revised
Code;
(d) Administrative expenses
of the county budget commission; and
(e) Expenses of the county engineer incurred
in the drafting of tax maps, pursuant to section
5713.10 of the Revised
Code.
(2) Costs
associated with activities not related to real estate, occurring in the county
auditor's office, include, but are not limited to, costs for the following
activities:
(a) Payroll;
(b) Disbursement cycle:
(c) Any licenses;
(d) Manufactured home tax, except as provided
in paragraphs (B) and (C) of this rule;
(e) General relief;
(f) Budgetary and fiscal process;
(g) Weights and measures; and
(h) Building maintenance.
(E) If the county
auditor intends to spend money from the real estate assessment fund for any
costs not specifically allowed under paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of this rule or
specifically disallowed under paragraph (D) of this rule, the auditor must
first seek approval from the tax commissioner upon the filing of a form
prescribed by the tax commissioner for that purpose.
(F) Under the general authority of section
5713.01 of the Revised Code, if
the board of county commissioners fails to appropriate sufficient money for the
county auditor's assessment activities, the auditor may apply to the tax
commissioner for an additional allowance for the type of expenditures listed in
paragraph (B) of this rule. However, under division (B) of section
325.20 of the Revised Code this
right to apply to the tax commissioner is not available for certain travel
outside this state. Under this latter section, the county auditor must apply to
the board of county commissioners in writing showing the necessity of the
travel and the probable costs to the county from the real estate assessment
fund for any out-of-state travel, if those travel expenses will or may exceed
one hundred dollars. The board shall approve or disapprove the auditor's
request. The board's decision is final.
(G) Under division (B) of section
325.31 of the Revised Code, a
copy of any appraisal plans, progress of work reports, contracts, or other
documents required to be filed with the tax commissioner shall be filed also
with the board of county commissioners. This requirement includes the DTE form
108, the DTE form 92, any contracts listed on the form 92, any applications for
additional allowances filed pursuant to section
5713.01 of the Revised Code, any
forms filed pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule, and any other documents
requested by the tax commissioner relating to the real estate assessment fund.
This requirement applies to any person filing the document with the tax
commissioner: whether that person is, for example, the county auditor, an
individual appraiser, an appraisal firm, a consultant, or a computer
firm.
