Franklin County refunds $5M in property assessment fees to local schools, municipalities

Nathaniel Shuda, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read

School districts, cities and other municipalities, libraries, parks and other agencies in Franklin County will get a combined $5 million refund in leftover property assessment fees they paid to cover the cost of real estate appraisals.

Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano announced Tuesday that most of the refunds — more than $3.2 million — will go to school districts across the county. Cities and villages within the county will get a total $397,802; townships will get a collective $250,755; libraries and parks, $130,314; and county agencies, $964,298.

Payments range from $1.07 million for Columbus City Schools to $2.88 for the Delaware County District Library, which crosses into a portion of Franklin County.

Stinziano said in a prepared release that his office was able to return the money to the community because of its "ongoing commitment to being fiscally responsible."

"Our goal is to redistribute these dollars back to the taxpayers as closely as possible and I am happy to be able to support our schools, municipalities and ultimately our residents," he said.

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State law requires the funds to be set aside to cover the costs of full real estate reappraisals that the auditor's office undertakes every six years — along with updates every three — to better reflect changing property values. The state leaves it up to counties on how they use the money. Historically, Franklin County has opted not to spend the extra cash, but rather refund affected school districts, municipalities and other entities.

Before taking office in March 2019, Stinziano committed to administering these funds on an annual basis. Payments are based on what each entity paid into the county's real estate assessment fund.

A breakdown of the largest allocations by entity follows. For a complete listing of how much money each entity got, go here: https://bit.ly/3VfyqPX

School districts getting more than $100,000:

  • Columbus City Schools: $1.07 million

  • Hilliard City Schools: $302,771

  • Dublin City Schools: $301,571

  • Worthington City Schools: $249,362

  • South-Western City Schools: $249,295

  • Westerville City Schools: $197,068

  • Gahanna Jefferson City Schools: $183,614

  • Upper Arlington: $183,557

  • New Albany Plain Local Schools: $120,964

Municipalities getting more than $20,000:

  • Columbus: $184,999

  • Jackson Township: $35,570

  • Dublin: $33,693

  • Upper Arlington: $28,409

  • Westerville: $28,065

  • Norwich Township: $27,180

  • Washington Township: $26,896

  • Mifflin Township: $26,204

  • Grove City: $24,027

  • Grandview Heights: $23,837

  • Madison Township: $23,618

Libraries getting more than $5,000:

  • Columbus Metropolitan Library: $92,477

  • Worthington Public Library: $14,509

  • Upper Arlington Public Library: $5,377

  • Westerville Public Library: $5,361

County agencies getting more than $100,000:

  • Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities: $332,030

  • Children Services: $232,753

  • Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board: $143,651

nshuda@dispatch.com

@NathanielShuda

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Local schools, municipalities get $5M refund from Franklin County