Property owners can file appeals with their county’s Board of Revision (BOR) if they disagree with their home’s updated value. People filing complaints about their values in this formal process are tasked with providing evidence for their proposed value change.
The application period for the Board of Revision opened this month. In Montgomery County, only 12 appeals have been submitted by residents as of last week. There have been four in Greene County.
Officials at the Montgomery County Board of Revision meeting on Monday said they did not expect appeals to match the thousands submitted following the 2023 property value update.
Property value increases
Montgomery County saw residential property values increase by an average of 34% countywide in 2023 as part of the state-mandated triennial update. Greene County saw a 30% average increase following its update.
Montgomery County’s Board of Revision in 2024 held 2,613 hearings for residents and business owners challenging their properties’ values. Greene County received 302 appeals last year.
Of these appeals, nearly half in Montgomery County saw a decrease in property value. This resulted in a $13 million change in total property value.
Seventy-three commercial properties and 10 residential properties saw an increase in value after filing a Board of Revision appeal, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office.
Montgomery County Board of Revision property value appeals
| Property type | Increase | Decrease | No change or dismissed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential properties | 10 | 1,082 | 1,052 |
| Commercial properties | 73 | 131 | 265 |
| Total | 83 | 1,213 | 1,317 |
Source: Montgomery County Auditor's Office
This was a significant uptick from the prior Board of Revision application period in 2023, where 373 hearings were held in Montgomery County, but the historic increase in value did not see records broken for the number of appeals filed.
Montgomery County’s remaining property appeals — representing 1,317 residential and commercial properties — were either dismissed or resulted in no change in value.
Nearly half of all 2024 Board of Revision appeals in Montgomery County came from Dayton, Washington Twp., Kettering and Miami Twp., according to the auditor’s office.
County auditor’s offices in 2023 had informal review periods where property owners could come into their offices and provide more information about their property and ask questions about the valuation process. No informal review was held during 2024, as that option only exists during years when an auditor’s office updates property values, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office.
Filing appeals
The Board of Revision is responsible for conducting hearings to determine the fair market value of property, allowing individuals to present evidence to suggest a change in a property’s value. Boards of Revision can only hear complaints regarding property value, not tax amounts.
Property taxes do not increase in line with property value increases, but they did go up for many residents after the triennial update.
A Dayton Daily News analysis last year found property tax changes varied from an average increase of more than 20% in a couple Greene County communities to taxpayers in Dayton and Jefferson Twp. seeing a decline. Factors included new and expiring levies, and rules on how much certain tax rates can be reduced.
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
The Board of Revision includes representatives from the offices of the county auditor, the county treasurer and the board of county commissioners.
Property owners can file an appeal with the Board of Revision online. On the form, complainants must state their desired value and describe their rationale for the change. Complaints can be filed between Jan. 1 and March 31.
After a property owner files an appeal, they will be scheduled for a hearing where they can make a case for a change in their property’s value.
In Montgomery County, hearings will be held via Zoom video conferencing or phone, a practice Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Property owners filing an appeal must also submit evidence supporting their value claim. This includes documents like appraisal reports, purchase and lease agreements, construction costs, closing statements and other documents related to income and expenses. They can submit evidence online.
