Board of Revision Special Meetings – July 17, 2023 - July 21,2023
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Board of Revision met in Special Session over five days beginning on Monday, July 17, 2023 at 9:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room on the first floor of the courthouse annex at 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. These meetings were in person with a virtual option via MS Teams. This observer attended virtually and reviewed a recording for several days of the hearings.
Agendas: Available for each morning and afternoon session through a public records request.
Budget Commission Members: The Budget Commission is composed of a County Commissioner, Auditor Charles Walder and Treasurer Christopher Hithcock. All members have designated representatives. See Board Attendance below. Auditor Charles Walder recused himself due to the fact that he was involved in investigation of these cases and filed the actual appeals on behalf of himself as a taxpayer.
Budget Commission Attendance:
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Frank Antenucci - Chief Deputy Admin ADP, Alternate for Auditor Charles E. Walder
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Christopher Hitchcock - Treasurer (M,F)
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Caroline Mansfield - Deputy Treasurer, Alternate for Mr. Hitchcock (T, W, Th)
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Linda Burhenne - Asst. County Administrator, Alternate for the Geauga County Commissioners
The Board voted on Monday to accept Linda Burhenne as an alternate on the Board of Revision for the County Commissioners.
Staff Attendance:
Attending All/Most Hearings Attending Some Hearings
Bonnie McKenzie - Deputy Auditor Ron Leyde - Chief Deputy Auditor
Heather Pipa - Deputy Auditor Pam McMahan - Fiscal Office Manager
Tim Severovich - Appraiser Gerald Morgan - County Administrator (Monday)
Michael Dorka - ADP Helpdesk
Zachary Molseed - ADP Helpdesk
Background Information
League of Women Voters found out about these hearings through information sent regarding the 5 days’ of hearings from Deputy Auditor Bonnie McKenzie. Then the hearings were listed in the County Commissioner’s upcoming meetings list on July 11th. At that meeting the Commissioners seemed unaware of the content and scope of the hearings. See LWVG report. Mr. Morgan gave some background regarding the Parkman Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the upcoming hearings. Further information has been obtained through correspondence and e-mails. It appears that there were long-standing unresolved issues raised by the users of the Parkman WWTP, which as stated below, came to the attention of Auditor Walder about a year ago.
The following information about History and Financing below was obtained from Mr. Gerald Morgan, County Administrator.
History: Parkman WWTP was constructed in 2004 in response to problems with disposal of sewage. The area has topographic challenges that make regular sewage systems difficult. The plant serves 128 properties.
Parkman WWTP Financing: At the July 11 BOCC (Board of County Commissioners) meeting Mr. Morgan explained that the project cost was partially offset by a community development block grant, which included a provision prohibiting any assessment of the property owners through real estate taxes. There is no assessment on these properties, but there is a continuing charge on their bi-monthly bill for costs associated with a loan for the building of the WWTP, and a separate charge for usage. In a separate email Mr. Morgan confirmed that the balance of the loan payment is paid out of the County General Fund.
In an email to this observer Mr. Morgan further explained that the remaining cost of construction of the Parkman WWTP was financed through a forty year, $1.96 million loan, which was refinanced in 2022. Annual loan payments total $102,966.50 with property owners contributing $17,940.48 through bi-monthly billing and the balance paid from the Department of Water Resources General Fund.
At the BOCC meeting on July 11 Mr. Morgan stated that the residents didn’t have to pay for the connection fee, but they did have to pay for running the line from the house to the street.
History of unresolved complaints - Information obtained from Auditor Charles Walder.
Residents have made the following complaints to Water Resources personnel, Parkman Trustees and County Commissioners or representatives.
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The operation of the Sewer system causes problems for homeowners with toilets flushing by themselves; sewer gas coming into the homes, which residents felt was lowering property values as well as being extremely unpleasant. Observer Note: Mr. Morgan confirmed that in designing the Parkman WWTP, they chose a vacuum type system as it was the cheapest and best alternative.
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Sewer connection costs and bi-monthly bills, which have gone up, make it difficult to maintain their properties. Observer Note: Users of the Parkman WWTP are in the middle of a 5-year planned increase in fees.
It is not known who responded to these complaints but on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 Mr. Morgan wrote to Parkman Trustee Duchschererir in which he stated his belief that residents on the Parkman WWTP could receive 15% reduction in property value based on a reduction that was granted to users of the Berkshire Heights WWTP. Observer Note: The Berkshire WWTP was completed in 2022 and residents there did receive a direct assessment on their properties for the cost of the plant construction. They also appealed to the Budget Commission and did receive reductions in property values due to individual factors. County Commissioners also authorized the use of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act). funds to be used for the cost to run the connections between property owner and sewer line. Connection fees were waived as they were for Parkman WWTP. For the Parkman WWTP, which was completed in 2004, residents did not receive an assessment on their property. This was due to requirements of a grant that financed most of the Parkman WTTP and was from a Community Development Block Grant.
On August 26, 2022, Auditor Walder wrote a letter to the Director of GCWR (Geauga County Water Resources) requesting a number of specific details regarding the Parkman WWTP. After receiving and reviewing some of the records provided to him by Water Resources, on December 13, 2022, Mr. Walder sent a letter to users on the Parkman WWTP detailing a process for investigating complaints and moving forward.
On January 18, 2023, the Auditor and staff met with Parkman Township Trustees. They discussed the issues in detail and put a course of action together.
As a result of the investigation, the auditor then filed appeals called “Complaints Against Real Property Values” for the affected Parkman parcels and residents began obtaining evidence for presentation to the Board of Revision (BoR) at hearings.
After the completion of the assessments, the Parkman Twp appeals were scheduled for 99 property owners of 152 parcels. 13 property owners with 15 parcels withdrew from the process. The Board considered appeals from 86 property owners for 137 parcels.
Hearing Rules: Rules are available here, although it is stated that they are under revision. Information about the Board of Revision is available here.
Description of Process: For each property listed there was a statement of the current tax value and the requested value, after decrease. There was testimony by tax assessor Tim Severovich, a Geauga County employee. Mr. Severvich presented evidence concerning the condition of the property (outside and inside if available). He gave a summary of any discussions with the property owner (if available) and presented photographs of the property showing any needed repairs or other factors that would impact value. He then gave either a range of reduction or a stated reduction. In general, for all properties his recommendation was at least a 5% reduction although in some cases when the property was in very poor condition, he recommended up to 10% reduction.
Withdrawals: property owners may withdraw from the process at any point and without stating a reason. 13 claims representing 15 parcels were withdrawn and those were deferred to Friday when they were accepted. Observer Note: Reasons for withdrawing may include believing a reduction in assessed value will lower the actual resale value or concerns about the hearing process itself.
Decisions of Board: It was announced that decisions by the Board of Revision can be appealed either to the Geauga County Common Pleas Court or to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals. Decisions are mailed to property owners within 30 days by certified mail. No decisions on the Parkman Township cases were announced at the week-long hearings.
Hearings
Monday, July 17 at 9 am/1 pm - 21 Parkman Twp appeals were scheduled for 30 parcels and 3 owners representing 3 parcels withdrew. Mr. Antenucci, Mr. Hitchcock and Mrs. Burhenne considered 18 appeals and 27 parcels for Parkman Twp, along with an appeal involving West Geauga School District, as follows:
REO Investments LLC (Parcel 11-105710) - appearance by Attorney Scott Lynch representing property owner Frank DiNardo regarding a property in the West Geauga School District. Decision not announced but will eventually be available for review in minutes from the Board of Revision when approved and published. Attorney appearing for this property only was Robert Brindza for West Geauga Board of Education.
Various Parkman Township Properties - A video was shown of a toilet flushing on its own - allegedly due to the vacuum process utilized by the Parkman WWTP. It was stated that certain property owners had complained that this vacuum system caused sewer gas smell to come into homes and reduce their value.
Several individual property owners appeared at the hearing to testify and mentioned their need to defer maintenance due to the cost of the WWTP and high cost of sewer bills.
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Parcel 25-011830 - Property owner Dianna Adams testified that in the installation process all of her drainage tiles had been crushed and she had to replace them at her own expense. Ms. Adams stated that she paid for running the line to her house. She said she contacted Water Resources about problems caused by the installation but that no one responded. She stated that her bill keeps going up. She also stated that her toilet does flush by itself.
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Parcel 25-070600 - A second resident stated that his toilet flushes by itself but it has not continued the gurgling it was doing earlier. He also stated that his sewer bill is high and he is having difficulty paying it.
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Parcel 25-46500 Mr. Coe, appearing virtually, testified that “it stinks in here” referring to the smell of sewer gas inside their home.
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Parcel 25-014850 - Mr. Detweiller identified this property as the one that contained the toilet that flushed by itself as seen in the video that opened these hearings. He confirmed that this is a pattern at this property.
Tuesday, July 18 at 9am/1pm: Parkman Twp Appeals (continued) - 21 appeals representing 37 parcels were scheduled and 3 owners representing 5 parcels withdrew. Mr. Antenucci, Ms. Mansfield and Mrs. Burhenne considered 18 appeals and 32 parcels.
Mr. Antenucci stated there were 120 affected property owners.
Continuing the pattern from Monday’s hearing, testimony mainly centered on deferred maintenance as presented by appraiser Tim Severovich.
Wednesday, July 19 at 9am/1pm: Parkman Twp Appeals (continued) - 20 appeals representing 24 parcels were scheduled and 4 owners representing 4 parcels withdrew. Mr. Antenucci, Ms. Mansfield and Mrs. Burhenne considered 16 appeals and 20 parcels, including:
Parcel 25-001810 - Deborah Schreiber, owner of two rental properties in Parkman, testified as to two things:
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She compared her Parkman sewage bills (for one person, 900 sq. ft) with her Solon owner occupied residence (2 residents) of 2,160 sq ft. She pays approximately $800 more each year for each of the Parkman properties than her Solon property. Her bill for one Parkman rental bill is $174 every other month or $87.35/month, which is $66.71 more than she pays per month for the Solon property or approximately $800 more a year.
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She read a portion of a Plain Dealer article regarding the indictment of Water Resources employee Mike Kurzinger and asked whether the potential corruption was causing the high bills.
Appraiser Tim Severovich gave testimony as with other properties and a general recommendation of reduction of 5% (with some properties having a different recommendation)..
Mr. Antenucci referenced the letter from Mr. Gerard Morgan, County Administrator, that was sent to Parkman Township Trustees. Observer Note: Please see the narrative above for more complete information. This is noted here because it occurred in the hearing process at this point.
Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 9am and 1pm - 20 Parkman Twp appeals representing 25 parcels were scheduled and 2 owners representing 2 parcels withdrew. Mr. Antenucci, Ms. Mansfield and Mrs. Burhenne considered 18 appeals and 23 parcels..
Continued testimony from tax assessor Tim Severovich.
Friday, July 21, 2023 at 9am and 1pm - Observer was not present but listened to a recording.
Mr. Antenucci thanked all the participants for coverage of the hearings, for preparation within a short time frame and for providing this service to the residents of Geauga County.
A variety of actions were taken by Mr. Antenucci, Mr. Hitchcock and Mrs. Burhenne, including:
Meeting Minutes - Approved meeting minutes from 6/12/23.
Parkman Twp Appeals - 17 appeals representing 36 parcels were scheduled and 1 owner representing 1 parcel withdrew. Mr. Antenucci, Mr. Hitchcock and Mrs. Burhenne considered 16 appeals and 35 parcels.
Most of the cases were commercial or non-profit establishments. The pattern of the hearing from prior days continued with testimony from Mr. Severovich and a general recommendation of 5% reduction.
Withdrawals - accepted 15 withdrawals of appeals filed by Charles E. Walder, resident, for Tax Year 2022.
Remissions/Refunds of Late Payment Penalties - approved for the first half of Tax Year 2022 in the amount of $6,527.95.
Accepted Board of Tax Appeals Decisions:
Noted that decisions will be sent Certified Mail to the residents of Parkman and the first case in the hearing for property owner REO Investments within 30 days of the Board’s decision.
Public Comment: There was no public comment elicited or given during the hearings.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on Auditor website
Next Meeting: To be confirmed, but generally 10:00 am in the Auditor’s Conference Room at 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. Meetings are held quarterly. Next meeting would be in October unless changed.
Name of Observer: Gail Roussey
Name of Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
Submitted: 7/26/23
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.