Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Auditor checking tax bills
Real estate penalties canceled
By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — While the Ohio Auditor is performing a special audit to see how often Butler County violated a state law on forgiving real estate tax penalties, a county commissioner says that law needs to be changed anyhow.
“Why in the world make a taxpayer fight the bureaucracy of Columbus when, through no fault of his own, a penalty has been levied against his taxes mistakenly?” asked Commissioner Michael A. Fox on Tuesday.
Mr. Fox said he would ask his two fellow commissioners to join him in asking lawmakers to change a 1982 law that requires the Ohio Tax Commissioner's approval for “remittances” or cancellations of tax penalties. Independently of the Tax Commissioner, the county treasurer has been ordering the county auditor's office to process remittances — a violation of law that officials fear is also occurring in other counties.
Local officials have said they were unaware of the law, and they are concerned that the Tax Commissioner may take months to process remittance requests, causing complications for landowners.
The county commissioners asked for the special audit at the request of Butler County Prosecutor John F. Holcomb. He raised the issue two weeks ago by filing a lawsuit against Kay Rogers, county auditor.
Mr. Holcomb alleged she illegally remitted tax penal ties for a real estate developer. But documents show Ms. Rogers did so by order of the county treasurer's office — and that many other remittances were handled similarly.
The law changing the process took effect 18 years ago, before Ms. Rogers and Ohio Auditor James Petro took office, but during the terms of Mr. Holcomb and Treasurer Mary C. Law. So Mr. Fox questions why the apparent problem went undetected so long: “Over 18 years you'd think even a blind pig could find an acorn.”
Still, Mr. Fox believes all four offices — the county auditor, prosecutor, treasurer and the county auditor — share the blame.
“It was a partnership of neglect, in which all systems broke down,” he said.
Given that there are about 140,000 parcels in Butler County, “it would take an army of auditors” to examine every property tax bill in the county, said Kim Norris, spokeswoman for Mr. Petro. So, in accordance with accepted national standards, Mr. Petro's office examines samples of trans actions. The special audit calls for a detailed look at 1997-98 records to determine “the scope and nature” of Butler County's remittance methods, she said.
Despite concerns that other counties are also violating the 1982 law, Ms. Norris on Tuesday said there were no plans for her office to investigate other counties.
To that, Mr. Fox replied, “That tells us two things: They know it's a big problem — and it's the type of problem that could embarrass a lot of people.”
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