Auditor Mike Kovack Announces $5.5 Million Tax Refund to Schools and Local Governments
Medina County Auditor Mike Kovack today announced that, due to the office’s prudent and efficient use of taxpayer dollars, he will be refunding a record $5.5 million to local schools, townships and municipalities from the Real Estate Assessment Fund. The refund will be issued on Friday, June 10.
The Real Estate Assessment Fund comes from a portion of property taxes collected and set aside to pay for real estate appraisals. The fees are mandated by state law for every county in the state and are used to finance the State Mandated Reappraisal process, but auditors can refund the fees following reappraisals if they have completed the work for less than the amount. The surplus is redistributed to local governments and schools in proportion to the amount they contributed to the fund. The Medina County Auditor’s Office completed the State Mandated Reappraisal in 2020 but delayed the refund due to uncertainties associated with the COVID 19 pandemic.
Medina County schools will receive $3.84 million of the refund. County agencies will be given $723,500 while municipalities and townships will receive about $645,000.
“We are very proud of the highly efficient operation we run at the auditor’s office, allowing this surplus to accrue,” Kovack said. “Local governments can now best serve their constituents with these additional moneys.”
The new record amount is 10 percent greater than the previous high. That previous record total came in 2014 when Auditor Kovack returned $5 million to local municipalities. Medina County had the lowest per parcel appraisal cost in the state that year.
The $5.5 million amount was determined after accounting for the expenditures of the 2019 Sexennial Reappraisal and estimating the level of money needed for the upcoming 2022 Triennial Reappraisal. The return of the $5.5 million refund still allows Kovack’s office ample resources for the immediate future, including sufficient resources to cover planned technology improvements.
For more information or to view a complete breakdown of the redistribution of moneys, visit www.medinacountyauditor.org or call 330-764-8051.
