“I usually don’t throw words like that around, but it seems a little extreme to me,” said Tarjan, whose annual tax bill on his 1,215-square-foot ranch home went up $1,043, or nearly 30%.
“It took me by surprise,” said the graphic artist now working from home due to the pandemic.
Tarjan is hardly alone.
He’s one of the 1,002 property owners who as of Thursday had filed a formal dispute with the county’s Board of Revision since final valuation notices and tax bills went out three weeks ago. Tentative values mailed out in August prompted owners of 4,021 parcels to ask the auditor for an informal review. Nearly half — 1,982 — resulted in the county decreasing the taxable value; 1,805 were unchanged; and 234 resulted in an increase.
| Montgomery County property tax changes, 2020-2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County all tax authorities | |||
| 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | Total value change | |
| Total | $852,299,000 | $886,411,000 | 13.3% |
| Cities and villages | |||
| Tax authority | 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | Total value change |
| Dayton | $13,438,000 | $14,847,000 | 11.2% |
| Kettering | $7,557,000 | $8,703,000 | 15.7% |
| West Carrollton* | $1,093,000 | $1,960,000 | 14.8% |
| Union | $2,008,000 | $2,452,000 | 16.4% |
| Huber Heights | $2,782,000 | $3,104,000 | 17.7% |
| Miamisburg | $2,819,000 | $3,104,000 | 17.2% |
| Centerville | $1,576,000 | $1,855,000 | 17.8% |
| Vandalia | $1,431,000 | $1,594,000 | 11.3% |
| Oakwood | $2,766,000 | $2,919,000 | 11.8% |
| Englewood | $2,016,000 | $2,107,000 | 14.3% |
| Germantown | $673,000 | $738,000 | 17.5% |
| Clayton | $2,671,000 | $2,723,000 | 9.5% |
| Moraine | $356,000 | $380,000 | 7.0% |
| Brookville | $143,000 | $164,000 | 13.6% |
| Farmersville | $160,000 | $168,000 | 13.3% |
| Riverside | $2,234,000 | $2,242,000 | 11.8% |
| New Lebanon | $1,045,000 | $1,052,000 | 14.9% |
| Phillipsburg | $79,000 | $79,000 | 5.0% |
| Trotwood** | $5,116,000 | $4,984,000 | 11.5% |
| Cities and villages total | $50,033,000 | $55,275,000 | |
| Townships | |||
| Tax authority | 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | Total value change |
| Washington Twp.* | $28,180,000 | $29,464,000 | 13.5% |
| Miami Twp. | $11,903,000 | $12,099,000 | 13.4% |
| Jackson Twp.* | $1,225,000 | $1,365,000 | 9.5% |
| Butler Twp. | $4,425,000 | $4,521,000 | 9.3% |
| German Twp.* | $1,923,000 | $1,998,000 | 10.9% |
| Jefferson Twp. | $2,427,000 | $2,446,000 | 6.7% |
| Perry Twp. | $1,016,000 | $1,032,000 | 9.6% |
| Clay Twp. | $1,464,000 | $1,479,000 | 1.3% |
| Harrison Twp. | $10,012,000 | $9,942,000 | 7.8% |
| Townships total | $62,709,000 | $64,642,000 | |
| Schools | |||
| Tax authority | 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | Total value change |
| Centerville City Schools | $96,337,000 | $100,452,000 | 14.9% |
| Huber Heights City Schools | $34,011,000 | $36,717,000 | 17.4% |
| Miamisburg City Schools | $40,223,000 | $42,648,000 | 14.3% |
| Dayton City Schools | $80,126,000 | $82,432,000 | 10.0% |
| Valley View Local Schools* | $6,808,000 | $8,372,000 | 11.9% |
| Vandalia-Butler City Schools | $27,839,000 | $29,356,000 | 11.9% |
| Kettering City Schools | $75,798,000 | $77,176,000 | 15.1% |
| Miami Valley CTC | $15,544,000 | $16,615,000 | 13.2% |
| Northmont City Schools | $35,188,000 | $35,915,000 | 12.3% |
| Oakwood City Schools | $25,324,000 | $25,990,000 | 11.7% |
| Trotwood-Madison City Schools | $10,389,000 | $10,716,000 | 10.3% |
| West Carrollton City Schools | $22,730,000 | $23,016,000 | 15.2% |
| Brookville Local Schools | $8,170,000 | $8,397,000 | 10.6% |
| New Lebanon Local Schools | $2,955,000 | $3,028,000 | 10.4% |
| Northridge Local Schools | $8,273,000 | $8,344,000 | 6.5% |
| Jefferson Local Schools | $2,966,000 | $3,020,000 | 7.3% |
| Mad River Local Schools | $11,314,000 | $11,263,000 | 11.4% |
| Schools total | $509,152,000 | $529,318,000 | |
| Libraries, parks | |||
| Tax authority | 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | |
| Dayton Metro Library | $20,874,000 | $22,253,000 | |
| Wright Memorial Library* | $442,000 | $945,000 | |
| Five River Metroparks | $18,305,000 | $18,549,000 | |
| Washington Centerville Library | $5,172,000 | $5,309,000 | |
| Washington Township Park District | $4,960,000 | $5,092,000 | |
| Libraries total | $26,489,000 | $28,507,000 | |
| Parks total | $23,266,000 | $23,641,000 | |
| Countywide | |||
| Tax authority | 2020 tax charge | 2021 tax charge | |
| Montgomery County General Fund | $15,597,000 | $17,704,000 | |
| Montgomery County Human Services | $124,948,000 | $126,655,000 | |
| Sinclair Community College | $36,853,000 | $37,356,000 | |
| Montgomery County ADAMHS | $3,156,000 | $3,213,000 |
Property owners have until March 31 to file an appeal with the county’s Board of Revision.
“You would think given the level of increases that we saw that we would get a record number of appeals. But it’s too early to tell,” Keith said.
The county’s Board of Revision heard a record 7,688 cases in 2009 following the 2008 reappraisal. Residential values went up 4% just as homeowners were reeling from a market downturn now known as the Great Recession.
Jeff Spisak said the tax value of his family’s Washington Twp. home jumped 13.7% to $640,490. While that increase is less than the 15.5% average countywide, he said that’s still far higher than he could sell it for in his neighborhood.
“I couldn’t sell our house for $530,000, let alone $630,000,” he said.
Spisak said an appraiser he hired placed the home’s value at $500,000.
“I realize they’re down on their money, but if you keep jacking up the property values no one’s going to live here anymore and you’re going to end up with a bunch of vacant houses,” he said.
How to appeal your Montgomery County property value
Montgomery County property owners can formally dispute the new valuation by lodging a complaint by March 31 with the Board of Revision by visiting www.mc-bor.org. For more information about the process, homeowners can call the county’s Real Estate Assessment Department at 937-225-4326.
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