In her time at the county office, she faced personal debt issues totaling about $50,000, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.
Most recently, this includes a foreclosure case that she lost this year, a vehicle repossession case that concluded last year and an order to garnish her wages in 2022 and 2023. Additional cases date back two decades.
Benson-Taylor said in an interview with the Dayton Daily News that most of her cases have been resolved and were due to difficulty finding steady employment before being hired by the county.
She said she was without work for nine months because the start date for a job she accepted was pushed back due to the pandemic. When she began her job at the recorder’s office, she was taking a pay cut.
“I used up my savings and was making ends meet, thinking I was going to be starting a new job soon,” she said. “And during that time, my mother passed away. There was just so much going on, and it took a big toll.”
“I know I’m not alone. This is my mess, and I want to own it as much as possible,” she said.
$1.2M budget
Benson-Taylor was hired as chief deputy recorder with a pay rate of $19.25 per hour in September 2021, according to payroll data obtained by the Dayton Daily News. Her hourly rate increased to $34.62 by the end of the year.
She was appointed to lead the county recorder’s office last year to fill a vacancy left by Brandon McClain, who is now serving as a judge in Dayton Municipal Court. Pay rate for county recorders is set by Ohio law based on a county’s population; for Montgomery County the statutory salary this year is $92,876.
The Montgomery County Recorder’s Office oversees a $1.2 million budget. The office maintains property records and other documents.
The personal finances of a public officials can be of public interest, said Lee Hannah, a political science professor at Wright State University.
“When we elect someone, we’re trusting them with public resources,” he said. “Evaluating whether or not they’re good stewards of private resources does become important. It’s not out of bounds to lodge those criticisms. You could question aptitude, ethics just depending on how they got themselves into those financial situations.”
Republican candidate
Benson-Taylor, a Democrat, is running for election this fall against Republican challenger Lori Kennedy.
“I’m choosing to focus on my own campaign,” Kennedy said when asked about the county recorder’s legal cases. “As a realtor myself, I know the critical importance of the recorder’s office. And I think I’m the most qualified for the role.”
Kennedy has had her own issues.
Kennedy filed for bankruptcy in 2009 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida. The bankruptcy filing said she had assets totaling $160,976 and liabilities totaling $391,354.
Kennedy also was charged in Kettering Municipal Court in 2011 with operating a vehicle under the influence. She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, according to court records.
Kennedy declined to comment on these cases when asked by the Dayton Daily News.
Recorder foreclosure
Benson-Taylor represented herself in her foreclosure case, and her appeal of the judge’s order against her was overruled in June. The Montgomery County sheriff’s office is directed to sell the property.
Towd Point Mortgage Trust filed a mortgage foreclosure case against Benson-Taylor in October 2023, requesting more $34,000 in interest bearing and non-interest bearing principal.
Benson-Taylor began missing payments on the property in 2021, according to court records. She claimed her mortgage was through a different lender and she was not aware of any changes in the financial agency overseeing her home loan.
Benson-Taylor had a COVID-19 mortgage forbearance for her property. The county official said she believed her forbearance was still active and sent two letters to her lender to confirm details about the forbearance, never receiving a reply.
According to property records, the Brooklyn Avenue house came into Benson-Taylor’s full ownership in the spring of 2006, when her mother transferred her portion of ownership to Benson-Taylor in a quitclaim deed.
She said she was timely in making payments for the property for 15 years before before losing her job.
“I found myself trying to figure out how I was going to survive,” she said. “And since I started working again, I was digging myself out of a hole, figuring out how to make things work.”
Other cases
A 2022 vehicle repossession case out of Kettering Municipal Court was filed last year after Benson-Taylor didn’t make payments on a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, owing $12,930, according to court records.
The car was never taken from her and she resolved the issue with late payments, according to Benson-Taylor.
She is also no longer paying wage garnishments related to debt collectors as of this year. Benson-Taylor has had wage garnishments out of 2000, 2003 and 2022 through Dayton Municipal Court.
Benson-Taylor said her circumstances are much like what other people in Montgomery County are facing, and she’s worked to help the public throughout her time at the Montgomery County Recorder’s Office.
“A lot of the people that we see every day are in situations that they would rather not be in,” she said. “I understand that everyone experiences something at some point, and that doesn’t take away or negate their ability to do their jobs.”
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