MOUNT VERNON — A Knox Pages reader asked, “Why is public information restricted and behind a user ID/password wall on the Knox County auditor’s website?
Specifically, he was asking why the public cannot access information through the tax estimator feature on the site.
“We had to take it down until we get the new tax rates because we didn’t what to blow people out,” Knox County Auditor Sarah Thorne said. “It’s not accurate.”
It is not accurate because the software does not include the new tax rates.
Knox County underwent a triennial update on property appraisals earlier this year. The values increased significantly due to lower interest rates and a lack of available houses.
Thorne tried to get the values lowered, but the state denied her appeal.
“We are at an average increase across Knox County of 37 percent, which is pretty high,” she said of the updated values. “And it’s not just us. There were 14 counties in Ohio that were hit with high values because our values weren’t up to what the sale prices were.”
Just because property values rose an average of 37 percent, that does not mean property taxes will rise the same percentage.
Thorne and her team are in the process of submitting to the state the levies passed in 2023 that are applicable to 2023 taxes.
That includes replacements, renewals, increases and decreases, or additional levies for all of the villages, fire districts, townships, and the city.
“We send those to the state. They do their calculations on their side,” Thorne explained. “They look at the values and figure out the effective rate.”
The effective tax rate varies by jurisdiction or neighborhood. It can be higher or lower than previously due to factors such as types of levies or the number of people in a jurisdiction/neighborhood.
“We have 203 neighborhoods, so they all vary depending on the sales in that neighborhood,” Thorne said.
Taxes are calculated by multiplying the effective tax rate by the assessed value of a parcel. The assessed value is 35 percent of the market value.
Once the state verifies the effective tax rates and they are entered into the county’s system, Thorne will reactivate the tax estimator. The restricted access message will disappear, and individuals will not have to register to log in.
She anticipates that to happen in two to three weeks.
“We are on track to send out the property tax statements the first of the year,” she said, adding that taxes will be payable in February.
