Rule 5703-25-55 | Real estate assessment fund; expenditures; allowable; disallowable; procedures.
(A) Allowable expenditures from the real estate assessment fund include the costs incurred by the county auditor described in paragraph (B) of this rule and, at the discretion of the county auditor, the costs incurred by the county auditor described in paragraph (C) of this rule, and the costs incurred by the county board of revision under Chapter 5715. of the Revised Code.
(B) Allowable expenditures by the county auditor from the real estate assessment fund consist of all costs incurred by the auditor related to the assessment of real property for taxation purposes, whether for the determination of "true value in money" or "true value" of all real property as defined in paragraph (A) of rule 5703-25-05 of the Administrative Code, or for the determination of "current agricultural use value of land" as defined in paragraph (B)(2) of rule 5703-25-30 of the Administrative Code, and for the assessment of manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property under division (D)(2) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code. Allowable expenditures may be made for the following:
(1) Contracts for the professional services of an appraiser, which includes contracts for a complete or partial appraisal, either for a sexennial reappraisal, triennial update, annual maintenance, or for any other special appraisal contract, for the appraisal of manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property, and for any appraisal consulting contracts.
(2) Contracts for the preparation of tax maps, which includes, but is not limited to, pilot projects, aerial photography, and the complete computerized appraisal mapping program with digital map files.
(3) Contracts, in whole or in part, for the purchase or lease of computer hardware and software, and the maintenance thereof, including consulting contracts related to the same, used in the real property assessment process.
(a) Computers purchased or leased pursuant to this paragraph can be used to store property record card data, to update property values statistically, to print various abstracts of real property values, to type and print various valuation notices and taxpayer letters, and to perform other assessment-related functions.
(b) In the case where the computer contract is for both assessment-related and nonassessment-related goods or services, the portion of computer hardware, software, maintenance, and consulting costs related to assessment purposes may be determined based on the percentage of time used for assessment-related purposes, on the percentage of disc space utilized for assessment-related activities, or a combination of both items, or on any other reasonable method. The applicable apportionment method is subject to the approval of the tax commissioner, which shall be final.
(4) In-house assessment-related expenses of the county auditor, in whole or in part, for real property, machinery, equipment, supplies, vehicles, utilities, and employee salaries and benefits. Costs for property, utilities, and personnel used for both assessment and nonassessment purposes may be paid out of the real estate assessment fund to the extent that they are allocable to the assessment-related use. Costs for property, utilities, and personnel can only be considered as assessment-related, if the property, utility, or person is used directly in the real estate assessment process, or used directly in the assessment of manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property.
(5) The cost to implement a permanent parcel numbering system.
(6) The cost to attend assessment-related seminars, continuing education courses, and conferences.
(7) The cost to update plat books and property record cards.
(8) Appraisal costs incurred by the county auditor to support values for real property and manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property in administrative or judicial proceedings.
(9) The cost to prepare and print the real property tax list, the exempt real property list, the agricultural land tax list, and the portion of the manufactured home tax list that relates to the manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property.
(10) Costs related to real property and manufactured or mobile home transfers.
(11) Costs incurred by the county auditor for the in-house preparation of tax maps.
(12) Costs related to the imaging or sketching of real property, and manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property, on any medium.
(13) Costs to prepare and print various abstracts of real property values, valuation notices, and taxpayer letters.
(14) Costs related to the application and determination process for the current agricultural use valuation program described in sections 5713.31 to 5713.38 of the Revised Code.
(C) Other expenses allowable from the real estate assessment fund, at the discretion of the county auditor, may be divided into two categories: costs associated with activities of the county auditor related to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor; and costs associated with activities of the county auditor not related to real estate at all.
(1) Costs associated with activities related to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor, include costs incurred by the auditor for the following activities:
(a) Costs in preparing the tax list of real and public utility property.
(b) Costs in administering laws related to the taxation of real property, which include, but are not limited to, calculation of tax rates and taxes, preparation and printing of the tax duplicate and the delinquent tax lists and reports, tax settlement between county auditor and county treasurer, and distributions of tax settlements.
(c) Costs in administering laws related to the levying of special assessments on real property.
(d) Costs in administering the tax reduction factors and the ten per cent rollback under Chapter 319. of the Revised Code.
(e) Costs in administering the homestead exemption on real property and the two and one-half percent rollback on real property and manufactured or mobile homes taxed like real property under Chapter 323. of the Revised Code.
(f) Costs in administering the homestead exemption on manufactured or mobile homes under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code.
(g) Nonappraisal costs to support values of real property in any administrative or judicial proceeding
(h) Costs for geographic information systems, mapping programs, and technological advances in those or similar systems or programs.
(2) Costs associated with activities not related to real estate, occurring in the county auditor's office, include costs incurred by the auditor for the following activities:
(a) Costs in compiling the general tax list of tangible personal property and administering tangible personal property taxes under Chapters 5711. and 5719. of the Revised Code, which include, but are not limited to, processing tangible personal property tax returns, assessing tangible personal property, and compiling the tangible personal property tax duplicates.
(b) Costs, expenses, and fees in the administration of estate taxes under Chapter 5731. of the Revised Code.
(D) Expenditures not allowable from the real estate assessment fund may be divided into two categories: costs associated with activities of the county auditor related to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor; and costs associated with activities of the county auditor not related to real estate at all.
(1) Costs associated with activities related to real estate, but not to the assessment thereof by the county auditor, include, but are not limited to, costs for the following activities:
(a) Preparation and printing of the tax bills and the daily payment journal;
(b) The appraisal of real property for purposes other than the determination of current, true market value; for example, to determine the historical value or insurance value of county buildings;
(c) The county auditor's salary, pursuant to section 325.01 of the Revised Code;
(d) Administrative expenses of the county budget commission; and
(e) Expenses of the county engineer incurred in the drafting of tax maps, pursuant to section 5713.10 of the Revised Code.
(2) Costs associated with activities not related to real estate, occurring in the county auditor's office, include, but are not limited to, costs for the following activities:
(a) Payroll;
(b) Disbursement cycle:
(c) Any licenses;
(d) Manufactured home tax, except as provided in paragraphs (B) and (C) of this rule;
(e) General relief;
(f) Budgetary and fiscal process;
(g) Weights and measures; and
(h) Building maintenance.
(E) If the county auditor intends to spend money from the real estate assessment fund for any costs not specifically allowed under paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of this rule or specifically disallowed under paragraph (D) of this rule, the auditor must first seek approval from the tax commissioner upon the filing of a form prescribed by the tax commissioner for that purpose.
(F) Under the general authority of section 5713.01 of the Revised Code, if the board of county commissioners fails to appropriate sufficient money for the county auditor's assessment activities, the auditor may apply to the tax commissioner for an additional allowance for the type of expenditures listed in paragraph (B) of this rule. However, under division (B) of section 325.20 of the Revised Code this right to apply to the tax commissioner is not available for certain travel outside this state. Under this latter section, the county auditor must apply to the board of county commissioners in writing showing the necessity of the travel and the probable costs to the county from the real estate assessment fund for any out-of-state travel, if those travel expenses will or may exceed one hundred dollars. The board shall approve or disapprove the auditor's request. The board's decision is final.
(G) Under division (B) of section 325.31 of the Revised Code, a copy of any appraisal plans, progress of work reports, contracts, or other documents required to be filed with the tax commissioner shall be filed also with the board of county commissioners. This requirement includes the DTE form 108, the DTE form 92, any contracts listed on the form 92, any applications for additional allowances filed pursuant to section 5713.01 of the Revised Code, any forms filed pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule, and any other documents requested by the tax commissioner relating to the real estate assessment fund. This requirement applies to any person filing the document with the tax commissioner: whether that person is, for example, the county auditor, an individual appraiser, an appraisal firm, a consultant, or a computer firm.
Supplemental Information