WILLOUGHBY — As orange barrels go up and summer construction continues throughout Northeast Ohio, the amount of money available to local communities for road work may depend on how accurately resident addresses are recorded when they pay vehicle registration taxes.
Both county and local governments receive a portion of those taxes for a variety of road-related uses, as specified under state law. According to local officials and a representative from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the funds can go to neighboring communities if resident addresses are assigned to the wrong taxing district.
“At both the state level and Lake County level, the amount of funds audited as being misdirected is less than one-half of 1 percent,” explained ODPS Assistant Director of Communications Lindsey Bohrer. “That’s out of (a) total of over half a billion dollars at the state level and nearly $11 million in Lake County alone.”
“We are aware of the issue and have over the years spoken with citizens, local officials (municipal, township and county), deputy registrars and members of organizations to stress the importance of accurately recording taxing district information to ensure that each community receives its fair share,” she added.
Bohrer explained that a taxing district is the combination of the county and the city, village or unincorporated township in which a person resides. Registrants can be assigned to the wrong district if they live on a street bordering two communities or if they list the wrong one.
“Some residents may not really know where they live, especially if they reside in a township,” she added. “The resident may not know they’re in a township and assume they live in the village/city.”
Officials in a variety of local communities recommended that residents list their specific township, village or city when updating registration information.
Bohrer explained that ODPS has used geocoding software for over 10 years to decrease the rate of incorrect registrations. Taxing districts can also conduct an audit to determine if funds they are owed have gone to neighboring communities.
An audit can also decrease the amount of errors, as it “creates a permanent record on the registration until the customer changes their address,” she added.
Painesville Township has regularly made use of the audits.
Office Manager Karen Muro explained in February that it has recovered approximately $8,000 per year since 2014 in funds that were initially assigned to the neighboring city of Painesville. She said that the township’s 2021 audit recovered $12,583.23 from 235 units.
“The addresses are coded at the state level, most of which are accurate, however many times new construction developments, as well as change in ownership, can reset the reporting location,” explained Township Administrator Hollie Bartone.
“We receive a small portion of the registration that’s collected by the (Bureau of Motor Vehicles),” she added. “The portion we receive goes directly back into maintaining our roads and providing services to our residents, so every dollar is crucial for our budget.”
Muro and Bartone believe that shared ZIP codes play a role in addresses being assigned to an incorrect taxing district. According to a 2021 Lake County map, Painesville Township and Painesville City share the 44077 ZIP code.
Other communities in the area reported fewer misdirected funds.
Concord Township conducted a reconciliation exercise “several years ago” and received $4,500 from Painesville City and Mentor, or fewer than 3 percent of the fund, said Township Administrator Andy Rose. The township shares the 44077 and 44060 ZIP codes with Painesville City and Mentor, respectively.
He added that the township receives between $150,000 and $170,000 each year from its vehicle registration permissive taxes.
Meanwhile, Mentor-on-the-Lake Mayor David Eva noted that his community conducted a reconciliation exercise in recent years and recovered $100. It also shares the 44060 ZIP code.
According to Chardon Finance Director Marc Iacofano, a 2022 audit found that the city received funds from 66 units in neighboring taxing districts. He said that it was the second year he had seen neighboring communities recover funds from Chardon.
The city of Chardon shares the 44024 ZIP code with the entirety of Hambden Township and large portions of Chardon, Munson and Claridon townships, according to a 2021 map from the Geauga County Auditor’s Office.
Officials in the city of Painesville, Wickliffe, Lakeline Village, North Perry Village and the townships of Perry, Madison, Chardon and Claridon said that they were not aware of any funds that they were owed going to neighboring taxing districts.
Phone or email messages were left for the remaining communities in Lake County, as well as Munson and Hambden townships in Geauga County.
According to the ODPS website, $20 from passenger vehicle registrations is distributed to local communities.
The county of residence receives 47 percent. The city or village of residence receives 34 percent, with the county receiving that portion if the resident lives in an unincorporated township taxing district. An additional 9 percent is allotted to the state’s counties based on their share of Ohio’s county road mileage, 5 percent is split equally among the counties and 5 percent is allotted to the state’s townships based on their share of Ohio’s township road mileage.
County and city, village or township governments may enact additional vehicle registration permissive taxes, as explained in a 2019 BMV document, though combined these entities cannot exceed $30 per taxing district.
Local officials noted that their communities use the funds in various ways, including road maintenance, vehicle maintenance and the purchase of salt and other supplies.
