How homeowners are making their case for lower property values and taxes in Summit County

Lewis and Susan Jenkins successfully challenged the county's attempt to drastically increase the taxable value of their home in Highland Square in 2020.

"It wasn't as bad as this," Lewis said, gripping a letter from the Summit County Fiscal Office notifying him and his wife of a proposed 63% valuation increase.

The married couple on Social Security plan to fight the increase, again. Their home hasn't been improved since adding 10 feet to the back 20 years ago. The only work since the 2020 reappraisal are repairs to the chimney and roof, which they said will probably need replaced this decade. They've thought about selling. But every time a prospective buyer walks into the backyard and sees the open dumpster behind the public housing high-rise next door, they say, "Nah, I'm not interested," Susan said.

Susan recently took ownership of the dog training business she worked at for 20 years. The side hustle earns enough to cover the cost of caring for her own labradors, black Tuxie and yellow Ki. Lewis, who retired from Goodyear, helps with the accounting.

As she left her home for work, Susan thought about the "ripple effect" the appraisals will have on her community. She's worried people hit with higher tax bills in January won't be able to afford the luxury of paying for obedient pets.

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"This is going to affect businesses," she said. "This is going to affect the economy. They're going to have to cut out expenses somewhere."

Letters with new home values that started arriving this month caused a collective gasp for hundreds of property owners who are mulling their options: prepare for tough financial choices or fight. The Jenkins were among the first 300 or so people who attended the Summit County Fiscal Office's first reappraisal meeting last week to hear how the county came up with their new value and argue that it's too high.

Property owners meet appraisers

"Taxes." That's why everyone is here, Summit County Fiscal Office Director of Real Estate and Appraisal Dominic Basile explained as homeowners, at a rate of about 50 an hour, entered a community room at the Barberton YMCA for their appointment with an appraiser last Tuesday.

Anticipating more complaints than usual with unprecedented valuation increases this year, Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise added three dates to the schedule of places people can see an appraiser. Basile and the appraisers walk each homeowner through a list of things that might help, much like a tax preparer would quiz clients for deductions.

Robert and Vilavahn Cormany parked in the rain and arrived about 6:15 p.m. Across the table from one of the dozen appraisers assisting homeowners, Cormany scrunched his eyebrows and pointed in disbelief at his property record on the Summit County Fiscal Office website.

He took ownership of his parents' home when they died. He and his wife use it for storage and often stay nights there. With the value jumping from $128,290 to $175,760 after the reappraisal, Cormany is thinking about selling because the new tax bill would make it hard to justify using it for storage.

He doesn't want the headache of renting the extra home. And he said he's "going to have to reevaluate" whether he can afford to keep it.

"I look for the housing market to slow down and stop," Cormany said of the timing. "Nobody wants to pay more taxes than is appropriate."

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Their personal home is only slated for an 8% increase, but Cormany figures that, "if anything, my property is detreriorating gradually."

But the Cormanys live in Barberton, which, along with Akron, Coventry, Clinton, Mogadore and New Franklin, is seeing aggregate property value increase above the countywide average.

Portage Lakes couple makes a solid argument

The Cormanys have philosophical opposition to paying more taxes, with Robert complaining about low interest rates and federal stimulus overheating the housing market during the pandemic.

The Caplingers brought a different argument to the table.

Lynett, a postal worker in Lakemore, took the lead as her husband, Brian, a lab technician at a manufacturing facility, leaned in to tune out the many conversations mixing in the room behind him.

The couple in their early fifties just applied for a line of credit on their personal home. To see what equity they have to borrow against, the bank privately appraised the home at $160,000, not the $216,540 the county is calculating based on recent sales and comparable values in their neighborhood.

"I think our problem is that we're in Portage Lakes," Lynett said after leaving the meeting with the appraiser, who agreed to schedule a site visit to physically review the condition of their home and look at the private appraisal. The Caplingers have a gas well and cell tower on their land. The free gas and royalties help. But they're a couple thousand feet from Rex Lake and upscale vacation homes that buoy their property value.

"If it doesn't come down, I will try to appeal it in January," Lynett said as she and Brian left their meeting with a helpful Fiscal Office appraiser. The Fiscal Office has until the end of September to hear complaints and adjust values before a final filing deadline with the Ohio Department of Taxation. After that, the county Board of Revision will start taking complaints in January after the new tax bills are calculated in late December.

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The Caplingers dutifully paid the extra $500 tacked onto their annual property taxes in 2020 when their property value jumped from $120,890 to $155,790. But that 29% value increase, which was on the high end for the county at the time, is now dwarfed by a pending 39% increase, meaning they could easily be paying $1,000 or more above what they were paying just four years ago.

This is all new territory to them, said Lynett, who was also advocating for tax relief on a property next door that she owns. Her mother lives there rent free on a fixed income that covers the basics.

"I bet you they won't come down that much," an upbeat Lynett said while Brian cracked jokes to lighten the mood. "But we'll see."

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County homeowners appealing property value increases