Drop in public utility value of Davis-Besse means revenue loss for Ottawa County entities

USA TODAY NETWORK
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PORT CLINTON - Ottawa County Auditor Jennifer Widmer recently announced that the public utility value of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant has dropped, resulting a loss of $1.8 million in taxes to several entities in Ottawa County.

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, operated by Energy Harbor, recently announced it raised more than $104,000 during its 2022 United Way Annual Campaign that will directly support Ottawa County families.   According to a news release, that represents a 43% increase from last year. The employee contributions and matching corporate funds will support United Way and its granted partners working in the areas of education, financial stability, health and housing, as well as other charitable organizations designated by employees.

There are several different types of property taxes in the State of Ohio. In the case of public utilities, there are real property values and public utility personal property values. The auditor’s office determines the value of the real property, and the State of Ohio determines the personal property value.

Davis-Besse public utility value drops from $68 million to $14 million

This upcoming tax year, the public utility value of Davis-Besse has dropped from over $68 million to just above $14 million. This results in a tax revenue loss of $1.8 million to the Benton-Carroll-Salem Schools, more than a $300,000 loss each to Carroll Township and combined county levies, and a $54,000 loss to the Oak Harbor Public Library., according to Widmer.

Not only does this decrease in value result in a loss of tax revenue to political subdivisions, but it will cause an increase to taxpayers in the Benton-Carroll-Salem School District (BCS). The district has two fixed sum emergency levies which must bring in the voted sum of money. Because of the value loss, these levies will increase 0.4 mill each, resulting in an overall 0.8 mill tax increase to each taxpayer. To put that in terms of dollars, taxpayers will see an approximate increase of $28 per $100,000 of appraised value.

The elected officials of the involved districts are exploring every option to validate these public utility numbers, Widmer said. However, the law does not provide any oversight or verification on this matter at this time.

For more information, contact Widmer at 419-734-6740 or asktheauditor@co.ottawa.oh.us.

The News-Messenger/News Herald

This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Change in Davis-Besse public utility value means loss of revenue