Mahoning County can't appeal Oakhill tax bill

COLUMBUS — Mahoning County lacks the authority to appeal some $421,000 in real estate taxes that accumulated on Oakhill Renaissance Place before the county bought Oakhill in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in July 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled today in a 4-3 decision.

The county bought Oakhill for $75,000 after its former owner, the Southside Community Development Corp., filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. At that time, the county agreed to be responsible for more than $900,000 worth of mortgages and liens on the property, including the tax bill if the tax appeal was unsuccessful.

The state tax commissioner rejected the non-profit SCDC’s application for tax exemption for the property, and bankruptcy trustee Andrew Suhar appealed that rejection to the state’s Board of Tax Appeals.

The BTA denied the county’s motion to intervene in the tax appeal, and the county appealed to the state’s top court. The high court ruled that the county can’t intervene or step into SCDC’s shoes because it didn’t own the property during the period of the tax dispute.

Read more in Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com