“During this difficult time for our community, it’s more important than ever to conduct a successful property tax collection, so that our local jurisdictions can provide the services our citizens need,” said Montgomery County Treasurer Russ Joseph. “We’re requesting this extension to make sure we can conduct a safe collection, both for our employees and the public.”
Both the treasurer and auditor’s offices have been operating with limited staffing since March and need time for staff to return to the office before they can prepare for the amount of work required for the second-half property tax billing and collection cycle, according to Joseph.
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Joseph said the county filed paperwork with the state Monday and expects Ohio’s tax commissioner to approve the extension next week.
“We don’t we see any reason why it wouldn’t be approved,” he said.
Nine counties have asked for similar extensions and all have been approved or are awaiting approval, said Gary Gudmundson, an Ohio Department of Taxation spokesman. In addition to Montgomery County, counties asking for extensions include Belmont, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Geauga, Highland, Monroe and Washington.
With thousands of residents unemployed during the pandemic, Joseph said the extension will give people more time to receive federal stimulus checks, delayed unemployment assistance or possibly return to work.
Up to 10% of payments are made in-person in the treasurer’s office. Many taxpayers use only cash without access to a checking account that would allow them to pay online or by mail, which puts employees at risk, according to the county.
Joseph said he and Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith talked to local cities, school districts, libraries and other entities that rely on property tax revenue to operate.
“The vast majority of responses we got back were very positive,” Joseph said. “They understood the situation. They appreciated that we were taking this step for our citizens.”
Joseph said they heard back from about 15 jurisdictions and only two preferred not to postpone tax collection, but “it wasn’t going to cause a disastrous situation for them.”
“We know that these services needed provided. We know that our communities desperately need these funds,” he said. “But we also know that there a lot of unemployed citizens in Montgomery County and we struck a good balance.”
While the extension may delay a final tax disbursement to communities, the auditor’s office already provides property tax advances to local jurisdictions. Earlier this year, 70% of jurisdictions requested an advance from first-half tax collection.
“We’ll continue to offer tax advances so our local schools and municipalities can maintain the essential services that we rely on in times of crisis, such as paramedics and public safety personnel,” Keith said.
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