Auditor: Everyone must file

(by Rachel Scofield, Staff Writer - January 24, 2009)

Every adult in Reynoldsburg must file a city tax return or face a fine, whether money is owed to the city or not, city auditor Richard Harris said.

Reynoldsburg outsources tax collections to the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA), and for an additional $35,000 a year, RITA will run an audit to find the residents who failed to file.

In previous years, RITA recovered as little as $88,000 to as much as $175,000 in unpaid taxes for Reynoldsburg.

"It's a good thing to continue," Harris said.

There are many reasons residents give for not filing. A common one is "my accountant charges $55 to file local taxes and the city charges $25 for noncompliance. I'll just come in and pay you," Harris said.

In other business, the city council will vote Jan. 26 on whether to shorten the easement between industrial and residential properties from 1,000 feet to 100 feet and the easement between commercial and residential properties from 200 feet to 100.

Development director Lucas Haire said that prior to 1999 the buffer around industrial properties was 100 feet.

Haire has been unable to determine why the city widened the buffer.

"It may have been an oversight," Haire said.

For businesses that look or smell offensive such as grain elevators and scrap metal yards, the 1,000-foot buffer would remain in effect.

Haire said the city plans to also reduce the commercial buffer width because "honestly, I don't think it has ever been enforced. It would eliminate most of the commercial properties along Main Street. There is not a lot of space on those lots."

Councilman William Hills said the city must find "the best use for the land we have left, which would certainly (not include) 1,000 foot set-backs."

^ back to top