Dusty: You botched it

It turns out Hamilton County residents won’t save as much on a proposed property tax rollback as previously announced.

Auditor Dusty Rhodes sent commissioners a letter late Wednesday noting their calculations on what the owner of a $100,000 house would save on a property tax rollback was wrong – and he criticized them for doing work he insists only his office can correctly do.

Earlier this week, commissioners voted to place on the fall ballot a proposal to increase Hamilton County’s 6.5 percent sales tax by a quarter-cent for 10 years. That is planned to pay for a new 1,800-bed, $225 million jail and roll back property taxes by a total of $30 million for three years.

Hamilton County administrative staff provided a memo that provided a “very rough estimate” to the owner of a $100,000 house for the three years of the rollback – a total $49.59.
Rhodes’ letter noted the actual savings will be $44.83.

That number also can’t be guaranteed, Rhodes noted, because Ohio law mandates that his office do a property re-evaluation in 2009 that could alter the calculation for the final year the rollback will be in effect if voters adopt it.

Rhodes’ also chided commissioners and county staff for releasing the original number, suggesting they aren’t as qualified as Auditor employees to make those calculations.

“The first problem with other offices attempting to provide estimates or make these calculations is that they are often unaware of the complexities of state law or recent changes with which our staff works on a daily basis,” Rhodes wrote.

“The second problem is that inaccurate or exaggerated numbers undermine the very credibility so necessary to inform taxpayers as to higher or lower levels of taxation.”

Today is the deadline to place issues on the Nov. 7 ballot.