Montgomery County Auditor’s Office

We need to start writing reviews of our local government. They should not be relieved of their responsibility of providing excellent service to its constituents and we should state our personal experiences for all to see. So, here goes. The auditor’s office is required to assign value to real estate properties and it must be the lowest that is in alignment with the market values. Given my research of my property’s value, with a little help of a local real estate agent, I came up with a significantly lower value. I even provided 7 other very similar properties that sold for the lower values, according to the county records. After going thru their black-​hole process of disputing my home’s value, they only lowered the value by $ 6K (which reduces my tax bill a little bit). Total BS. I have NO idea how they came up with the new value and I have yet to get anything in the mail as to a complete explanation of how they did to get the value. How is this serving the public? Obviously, it is not. The process is not transparent and they also expect the tax payer to call them to get an unofficial explanation. This is the 2^nd time, I have gone thru this value dispute with them — the first time, they did nothing. I am close to taking this another level, which by the way would cost me — the taxpayer — more money in at the very least court costs and probably a tax attorney. I have to wonder if I can get my taxes back that I believe should not have been owed in the first place! On another note, I am still waiting for the current tax bill they supposedly mailed on June 22^nd. And, when I go to their website to find out when taxes are due, it is very difficult to find a simple answer. And, I don’t know what is going on over there, but did you hear about this: On June 23^rd, 2015, Dayton Daily News reports: «The city says it inadvertently transferred the deed of the property, which has an assessed value of $ 340,000, to Upscale Realty for about $ 635.» This is actually part of a City/​Montgomery County program. Really? Inadvertently? What? — did someone trip and inadvertently sign some blank transfer documents? I have zero confidence in this auditor and little confidence in this treasurer.