Mayor wants county to collect $30M in unpaid property taxes

Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring is calling on Lorain County commissioners and Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass to focus their efforts on collecting more than $30 million in unpaid property taxes before levying any additional burden on homeowners.

In a Sept. 7 statement, Bring said after hearing from numerous residents, he is concerned many homeowners could end up in foreclosure, or faced with painful decisions about whether to buy food or pay utilities while struggling to pay increasing property taxes set to come in January 2022.

The issue stems from Lorain County’s property reappraisal process as a result of state mandates.

Bring said Sheffield Lake property reappraisals are up 17.7 percent, a figure he believes will burst the real estate bubble.

“We know we are in the midst of a real estate bubble, with many homes being sold for more than their listing prices,” he said. “This is not going to last.

“What happens to those whose household budgets are already stressed when this happens?”

Bring added he has never seen property taxes reduced, including during the 2008-09 financial crash.

“There is more than $30 million in unpaid property taxes in Lorain County,” he said. “What effort is being made to collect them before lowering the boom on those who do pay their taxes?”

Bring said after Sheffield Lake residents recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, followed by the novel coronavirus pandemic that severely impacted the economy, the reappraisal process is not fair.

“This sky-high reappraisal is unrealistic and unfair to hard-working Sheffield Lake residents and retirees,” he said.

Bring noted that food prices have skyrocketed, along with other household budget items.

He said the issue is even greater for young families in the community because so many pay hundreds of dollars every week for childcare in order to work.

“Many families need two steady incomes in order to pay their mortgages and other weekly bills,” Bring said.

He said he understands Snodgrass was following state law which mandates that properties are reappraised every three years.

However, the mayor questioned why there is a need to increase property taxes, especially when so many federal dollars were distributed to counter revenue losses as a result of COVID-19 and income tax collection is back on target.

“Are county commissioners contemplating establishing a tax holiday, at least for middle-income wage earners and the working poor who can least afford another big hit to their budgets?” Bring asked. “My residents want to know what additional services they will receive as a result of a significant tax hike.”

In response to Bring’s comments, Snodgrass reiterated the reappraisals are rules promulgated by the Ohio legislature and directed questions of delinquent property taxes to the Lorain County treasurer and the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office, which handle those issues.

Bring invited the Lorain County commissioners to meet with Sheffield Lake residents in a listening session Sept. 8 at the Joyce E. Hanks Community Center to hear their concerns, with many of them unable to attend commissioners meetings during the day.

The mayor also wants the commissioners to investigate the establishment of a program which would foreclose and then auction properties with unpaid property taxes after one year, pointing to Hamilton County, which only has $81 million in unpaid taxes compared to $518 million Cuyahoga County, which do not have such a program.

“If people knew there was a consequence to ignoring property tax bills, they’d pay them,” Bring said.

Payment plans are available to those with legitimate reasons, but that it is often those most able to pay who simply flaunt the law, he said.

Commissioners’ Board President Michelle Hung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This sky-high reappraisal is unrealistic and unfair to hardworking Sheffield Lake residents and retirees.”

— Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring