David L. Green Scioto County Auditor 602-7th Street Room # 103 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662 (740) 355-8324 Fax: (740) 355-8240 Office Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday Welcome from the Auditor Phone directory Property Tax Rollback and Homestead Exemptions Search land records (You'll leave this site) GENERAL ACCOUNTING Administration and Distribution of Tax Revenues Accounting for all County Funds Administration of County Payroll The County Auditor is the Chief Fiscal officer of Scioto County it is his responsibility to account for almost 153 million dollars received each year by the County and to issue warrants (checks) in payment of all county obligations, including the distribution of tax dollars to Scioto County itself and to its sixteen (16) Townships, tour (4) Villages, one (1) City, eleven (11) School Districts, and one (1) Library System as well as other County Agencies. The Auditor's General Accounting Department is the watchdog over all County funds and maintains the official records of all receipts. disbursements and fund balances. It is the Auditor's responsibility to serve as the paymaster for the seven hundred thirty five (735) County employees. The Auditor also distributes motor vehicle license fees, gasoline taxes, estate taxes, fines, and local government funds in addition to real estate and personal property taxes. PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX The County Auditor, as agent for the Ohio Department of Taxation, is responsible for administering the tangible Personal Property Tax Laws. Generally speaking, anyone in business in Ohio is subject to the tangible Personal Property tax on equipment, furniture, fixtures, and inventory used in business. The tangible Personal Property tax is distributed back to the local taxing districts in the same manner as real estate taxes. Personal property is assessed from tax returns which are filed. The Tax Commissioner is responsible for administering the personal property tax laws the County Auditor serves as a deputy for the Tax Commissioner in this capacity. Scioto County has more than 52,097 separate parcels of real property. It is the duty of the Auditor's office to see that every parcel of land and the buildings thereon are fairly and uniformly appraised and then assessed for tax purposes. A general reappraisal is mandated by Ohio Law every six years and an update every three years. The office maintains a detailed record of the appraisal on each parcel in the County, and these records are open for public inspection. REAL ESTATE TAX DUPLICATE AND RATES Preparation of General Tax List and Duplicate Administration of Special Assessments Administration of Tax Refunds and Abatements Under law, the County Auditor cannot and does not raise or lower property taxes. Tax rates are determined by the budgetary requests of each governmental unit as authorized by vote of the people and are computed in strict accordance with procedures required by the State Department of Tax Equalization. Annually the Auditor prepares the General Tax list and duplicate. Your tax bill is based on the tax rate multiplied by your valuation on this duplicate. This is your proportionate share of the cost of operating your local government including schools, townships, villages, the county, etc. Ohio law limits the amount of taxation without a vote of the people to what is known as the 10 mill limitation ($10.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation). Any additional real estate taxes for any purpose must be voted by county residents. Your tax rate is an accumulation of all these levies and bond issues. ESTATE TAX The County Auditor acts as an agent for the Tax Commissioner of Ohio. The monies collected from this source are distributed by law -- 20% to the State of Ohio and 80% to the taxing district (township or village) in which the decedent had resided or owned property. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS Special assessments are not part of your real estate tax, but are included as a separate item on the real estate tax bill. These could include such items as ditch assessments, improvement levies such as street paving, curbs, lighting, sidewalks and sewer or water lines. The Auditor is required by law to keep an accounting of these special assessments, to place them on the tax duplicate as a separate item, and to return the money collected to the village, township or county office which levied the assessment. HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AND PROPERTY TAX ROLLBACK Property Tax Rollback and Homestead Exemptions are forms of property tax relief. Every property tax payer receives the 10% rollback which became law several years ago with the enactment of the State Income Tax. Senior Citizens and the permanently disabled are eligible to receive Homestead Exemptions (reduction in real estate taxes). Applications are available at the Auditor's office. Manufactured homes are now also included in this Homestead Program. For more information on this program, click here. The Auditor's office also administers the new 2 1/2% Property Tax Reduction Law passed in 1979 for residential and agricultural property owners. TRAILER TAXES Under Ohio law, it is the responsibility of owners of house trailers (manufactured homes) to register their homes with the County Auditor for tax purposes. Annually the Auditors office assesses each manufactured home and prepares a tax duplicate. Tax bills are sent to each owner semi-annually. The House Trailer tax is distributed back to the local taxing districts (townships and schools) in the same manner as real estate taxes. In Scioto there are almost five thousand five hundred (5,500) manufactured homes on the tax duplicate. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES The Auditor is the Sealer of Weights and Measures for the entire county, thus protecting the general public from the possible loss which may occur from faulty measuring devices, such as scales and pumps. He is charged with the responsibility of insuring that all state laws relating to weights and measures are strictly enforced. One method of enforcement is to perform "spot-checks" on prepackaged items to test the accuracy of the weight of the contents. LICENSING The Auditor's office is the focal point in the county for the issuance of licenses for dogs, kennels, vendors, cigarettes, and junk yards. Dog licenses comprise the largest number of licenses sold. The annual dog registration is a service designed to benefit the animal, its owner and the community. Dog licenses sold in 2005 added up to 3,870. Vendor's licenses authorize businesses to sell tangible property to the public collecting Sales Tax of which part is returned for use on the local level. BOARD MEMBERSHIP Budget Commission, Secretary Board of Revision, Secretary Records Commission Budget Commission -- The Auditor is the permanent Secretary of the Budget Commission which also includes the County Treasurer and the Prosecutor. It is the responsibility of the Commission to annually review the tax budgets of all the taxing districts within the county and to determine that all tax levies are properly authorized in addition, the commission allocates to local governments and libraries the monies for which they are eligible. Board of Revision -- The Auditor is the permanent Secretary of the Board of Revision which also includes the County Treasurer and the President of the Board of Commissioners. It is the responsibility of the Board of Revision to rule with original jurisdiction on property assessment rolls prior to the issuance of the real estate tax list and duplicate. Property valuation complaints are also reviewed. Records Commission -- The Auditor is a member of the Records Commission which is comprised of the County Recorder, Prosecutor, Clerk of Courts, a County Commissioner, and a Common Pleas Judge. It is this Commission's responsibility to review records management programs and applications for records disposal or transfer. Automatic Data Processing Board -- The Auditor is the Chief Administrator and permanent Secretary of the Automatic Data Processing Board. Board membership also includes the County Treasurer, the Clerk of Courts, a County Commissioner, and the Recorder or a representative appointed by each. The Board of County Commissioners having established, by resolution, a County Automatic Data Processing Board, no County Office shall purchase, lease, operate, or contract for the use of any Data Processing equipment without prior approval of the Board. Economic Development | Info & Statistics | Events & Attractions Our County & Communities | News | Contacts | Home Free JavaScripts provided by The JavaScript Source © 1998-02 Scioto County Government. All rights reserved.