Fiscal Officer
Ms. Laurie Pinney, Fiscal Officer
The Fiscal Officer is a four (4) year term that begins on April 1 after the previous November election and expires on March 31. Ms. Pinney took office as Township Fiscal Officer in 2003 and has been elected thereafter. Her current term expires March 31, 2024.
Ms. Pinney can be contacted through the Township Administration Office on telephone number 330-659-4700 or through email at laurie.pinney@richfield-twp.org.
Funding to operate all services provided to residents in Richfield Township comes from property taxes, motor vehicle license tax, gasoline tax, permissive motor vehicle license tax, park fees and zoning fees. Additional income may be derived from lease agreements as well. In 2005, a Joint Economic Development Agreement with the Village of Richfield was reached that will produce additional income for the Township.
Another major source of income comes in the form of specific levies, which are voted on by the residents. Richfield Township currently has four levies:
- Road and Bridge Levy,
- Police Protection Levy and
- Fire/EMS Levy
- Waste Hauling Levy
REAL ESTATE PROPERTY ANALYSIS FOR TOWNSHIP FUNDING PURPOSES
To help you understand how your Township receives funding for the services that it provides, you need to understand the property taxes you pay.
Everyone who owns property pays taxes twice a year. Indicated on your tax bill is an Estimated Market Value (what the County Auditor has appraised your property at) and the Taxable Value (35% of the Estimated Market Value). Neither of these figures represents what the market value of your property may be.
Millage is a percentage of every $1,000.00 of estimated market value (this figure determines what portion of your property tax each agency, government or school will receive). With the exception of the general inside millage, every registered voter has the right to vote on all levies.
An Example of a Richfield Township Home
- $100,000.00 Estimated Market Value
- $35,000.00 Taxable Value (35% of the estimated market value)
- $1,964.00 Annual Real Estate Taxes after State of Ohio Credit
To obtain specific appraisal and tax information about your property, visit the Summit County Fiscal Officer's Website: http://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net
Using the example cited above, the following are the amounts distributed based on $1,964 collected on a Richfield Township residence with an estimated market value of $100,000.00
- Revere Local School District: 52%, $1,021
- Summit County: 19%, $373
- Richfield Township: 18%, $354
- Parks: 5%, $98
- Other: 6%, $118
FUNDS & LEVIES TO RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP
The 19% of the tax distribution represents the Township's portion from property taxes AND voted levies.
As needed, the Township Trustees analyze the financial condition of the Township and ask voters to pass levies for specific services.
The definitions of levies are:
RENEWAL LEVY: A renewal levy brings in the same amount of money that an expiring levy generates and will not raise property taxes.
REPLACEMENT LEVY: A replacement levy generates more money because it takes the place of a levy that is collected on the basis of old property values. A replacement levy raised the taxes to reflect the current market value of the property.
Unlike the general inside millage that every town collects, the funds collected from the police, fire and road levies can only be spent on those specified services. The general inside millage levy funding can be distributed to any service including the administration of the township government and generally pays for all salaries and benefits for elected and non-elected individuals, utilities, equipment, trash collections and capital improvement projects.