MENTOR, Ohio — It's not just mortgages and rent breaking the bank these days. News 5 has been following the struggle of many families after being slapped with rising property tax bills.
Property revaluations will happen this summer in Lake County, where property values are expected to rise, driving up homeowners' taxes.
The Lake County Council on Aging and Lake County Treasurer's Office receives many calls about taxes, especially about rising taxes. The Lake County Treasurer's Office created a new 12-month prepay budget plan to help folks keep up with their property taxes and avoid a tax bomb.
The new 12-month program is free and geared toward seniors who are especially unable to pay large bills all at once. Folks enrolled in the program would pay on the 5th of each month beginning in August. The program accepts automatic payments, cash, and checks.
"Next year in Lake County and multiple surrounding counties, the valuations are going to be re-assessed by the auditors and there will most likely be a tax increase. We don't know what that will be," said Michael Zuren, Lake County Treasurer.
Zuren met with seniors on Wednesday to discuss the revaluations and the new monthly plan.
"I know they do the valuations. I get the things in the mail that they're talking about and I look through it to see if there's any way I can save or anything," said Andy Rattray from Willoughby.
"I don't know really what to expect but admittedly they don't either, so we'll deal with it when it happens," said Rose Turner.
Many folks are looking for ways to save on their taxes and their property taxes,
"I thought, well, maybe as a homeowner, I could rebudget so I could balance things better, and then the payment wouldn't be so high because the last bite with the taxes was really, really hard, that was really hard," said Turner.
Folks also learned more about credit scores, identity theft, and other budgeting programs they might not have known about.
"Limited incomes mean limited food and healthcare, of course, housing, transportation, and all of these things start to sort of add up," said Joe Tomsick, Chief Executive Officer of Lake County Council on Aging.
To learn more about the program, call 440-350-2516. The Council on Aging will partner with the Treasurer's office for meetings at 2 p.m. on May 28 and June 13 at 8250 East Ave., Mentor. On May 8, a session will be held at 6 p.m.
If your family member could benefit from services at the Council on Aging, call 440-205-8111.
