First day of Lucas County auditor’s community outreach meetings

LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio —

The first of nine Lucas County Auditor’s office community outreach events happened Tuesday.

These meetings were announced following a programming error that left more than 1,400 homeowners in Lucas County with over-inflated property values. The county also saw an average increase in property values of 29.5%.

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Lucas County Auditor Katie Moline wanted to ensure there was transparency surrounding the 2024 property revaluation process, which led to these meetings along with a third-party review of revaluations.

The first meeting, at the Monclova Community Center, brought more than 100 people out to ask questions regarding property values. 

These meetings are not formal reviews and will not result in any property values being changed, but they are an opportunity for people to ask the auditor’s office about what information to have ready for a formal hearing.

If someone chooses to file a formal review, they have to bring information that shows comparable homes and any data that supports why their home should be valued at a different price.

Community members from Monclova Township, like Peggy Kneen and Karl Schnapp, had filed an informal review in the fall and it was denied. The two have submitted for a formal review and are waiting for their hearing to be scheduled.

“I feel comfortable moving into the formal review process anyhow, but we want to make sure our information was strong and we had a good case,” Schnapp said.

Kneen said they spoke with someone who explained what kind of impact there could be to their taxes, how that would be taken care of and what kind of refund would be issued if there is a change to their property value.

“They were just very reassuring, very much willing to listen, want to get things right,” Kneen said. “We appreciated that.”

Meetings are happening through March 29 throughout Lucas County. The deadline to submit a formal review for a hearing with the board of revision is March 31.