ASHLAND – A portion of the delinquent taxes the county collects may soon go to the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the land bank. 

The land bank is a new quasi-governmental entity designed to act on behalf of the county to take control of vacant, abandoned, tax delinquent properties; demolish or rehabilitate blighted structures and transfer properties to qualified end users. 

Startup costs for the land bank have come from the City of Ashland and Ashland County, which each have contributed $15,000.

Now, land bank board members want to add to their funding up to five percent of the delinquent real estate taxes, penalties and interest that the county collects. 

According to the Ohio Revised Code, the land bank may take up to 5 percent of these DTAC dollars without the permission of any other entities. Still, board members intend to discuss their plan with leaders of the county’s schools and villages, which all would receive less DTAC money if the land bank takes a share. 

“We just want them to understand it and to hopefully get their blessing,” county commissioner and land bank board president Denny Bittle said. “We really need their support on this.”

Up to five percent of the DTAC dollars the county collects already is split between the county auditor’s office and the prosecutor’s office to help pay for the collection of delinquent taxes. For the 2015 tax year, that five percent totaled $67,652.

If the land bank took another 5 percent that year, that figure would have doubled to $135,304. 

Mayor Matt Miller, who sits on the land bank board, questioned whether the land bank should ask for a smaller percentage so the schools will not be contributing more than the city or the county. Ashland City Schools’ five percent loss in 2015 would have been $31,470. 

Land bank director Hal Sheaffer responded by saying the land bank needs the DTAC funds as seed money in order to apply for grants. 

If everything goes well, Bittle said, the land bank could scale back the percentage of DTAC money it takes in the future. 

The land bank’s intent is to put tax delinquent properties back on the tax rolls as well as to boost property values, Bittle said. 

“Our thought is, any of that money, whether it is one percent or five percent, that is withheld from the schools, is going to be used to create greater property values that will generate more tax revenue for them,” Miller said. “So it might be a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain.”

Sheaffer said he is creating a list of properties that would be of interest to the land bank and that he plans to reach out to villages and townships for their input on potential properties. 

Miller said he would like the land bank to consider the former Eagle Gas station on Claremont Avenue, and he added that the city and land bank may be able to work together to apply for grant funding to clean up the “high-profile” property. 

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the land bank appointed Erin Collins as assistant director and moved to employ Clint Leibolt as its attorney and Tim Baker as its accountant.

The land bank will operate out of Ashland Area Economic Development’s office and is paying AAED $16,980 a year to cover the land bank director’s salary, administrative service fees, office space and office supplies.