MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Auditor Margaret Ann Ruhl estimates she and her staff have fielded approximately 2,000 questions and complaints from county residents during the past seven business days, a result of change of value notices being mailed to property owners around the county.

Ruhl said the majority have questions about the rise in property valuations, which will affect property tax bills due to be sent out the beginning of next year. Some residents have requested onsite field checks of their property, to verify information and make corrections. Others are calling and coming in to correct information they believe to be in error.

“We’re listening to them and making notations,” Ruhl said Wednesday. “We’re marking the cards, but the information will then have to be entered into the computer.”

Ruhl said some field checks are already being done, and others will continue into December. These onsite reappraisals are done by John G. Cleminshaw Inc. Appraisal Co. of Hudson. Employees of this company are also helping Ruhl’s office staff answer questions and hear complaints.

All corrections made during this process will have to be completed and sent to the Ohio Department of Taxation for approval, according to Ruhl. She said she does not know when the process will actually be complete because of the volume of inquiries her office has received.

Ruhl said much of the time her staff has spent with taxpayers has been spent listening and clearing up misconceptions.

She said the increase in valuations is due to the rise in property values in Knox County between Jan. 1, 2005, and Jan. 1, 2008. Appraisal values done by Ruhl’s office are slightly over 90 percent of sales values in the county. In other words, the appraisals done by the Knox County Auditor’s Office are over 9 percent lower than actual local home sale prices.

Ruhl said the state rejected her office’s tentative abstract submitted in July, which reflected an 89 percent ratio. The state requires the ratio during a reappraisal to be over 90 percent.

If her revaluations did not reflect this ratio, she said, Knox County risked losing its state funding, which helps to keep many county offices open and running.

She said the value increase during a triennial update is recommended by the Ohio Department of Taxation. The letter her office received from ODT in 2005 recommended a 10 percent rise in values.

A reappraisal — which is what the county is currently going through — happens every six years, and is based on sales and onsite appraisals done by the auditor’s office. Ruhl said triennial updates — which happen three years after reappraisals — are based strictly on home sales.

Ruhl said the fact that many homes are currently for sale in the county does not influence valuations; only actual valid home sale prices are considered.

The actual property tax rates have not yet been calculated. Ruhl said these calculations are done by the ODT, and cannot be completed until surrounding counties have completed their revaluations. This is because many school districts used to determine tax rates cross county lines.

Ruhl said Licking County’s valuation, which will affect Knox County residents living in the North Fork and Northridge school districts, is not complete.

“Their tentative abstract isn’t even done yet,” she said.

She said the 73 different tax districts in Knox County all are figured separately, because a different combination of levies applies to different districts.

“As soon as we get that done, we will do a release saying the new tax rates,” Ruhl said.

She said the new rates appear on the Internet first, as they are calculated by the state. She said she hopes to have information about the new tax rates on the Internet by mid-December, but the volume of appeals her office is currently working on could affect that timeline.

The complaint process currently under way will close before tax bills are sent, so Ruhl urged residents to make use of the appeal process while it remains open. Calling her office or stopping in for a form will begin that process.

Ruhl said one of the clarifications her staff has been making is that different neighborhoods and townships have different property values and changes in valuations.

She said areas of current growth such as Apple Valley and the Centerburg area experienced a more dramatic rise in valuations because property values in those areas are rising more rapidly.

State requirements, the local real estate market and the increase in levies in Knox County all add up to a fact which is hard to accept for many.

“Taxes are going up,” Ruhl said.

How much taxes will rise next year is a question she said she cannot answer until more information is processed. But the new levies passed by voters Nov. 4 and the increased valuations of Knox County properties make it a safe bet all residents will see some increase in their bills in January.