Summary
The Ohio Supreme Court held that the Columbiana County Budget Commission lacked authority to determine the repayment period for amounts owed to the City of East Liverpool after an invalid allocation formula had been used. Because Ohio Revised Code section 5705.37 did not authorize the Board of Tax Appeals to remand the matter to the budget commission, the remand and the commission’s five-year repayment order were invalid. The court reversed the Board of Tax Appeals’ decision and remanded for further action consistent with the statute.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Board of Tax Appeals had authority to remand the apportionment matters to the budget commission for further action after determining that the budget commission's formula was invalid.
- Whether the budget commission had authority to determine a five-year repayment schedule for amounts owed to East Liverpool.
Holdings
- The Board of Tax Appeals lacked statutory authority to remand the matters to the budget commission after acting on the budget commission's apportionment decision.
- The budget commission had no authority to approve a five-year repayment schedule because the Board of Tax Appeals' remand was invalid and, once the Board of Tax Appeals acted, the budget commission had no further role.
Key quotations
“The question presented by this case is whether the Columbiana County Budget Commission has authority to determine the length of time that the subdivisions that owe money to the city of East Liverpool have to repay the money. We find that the budget commission does not have such authority.” (at 138)
“There was no statutory provision authorizing the BTA to send its decision back to the budget commission for further action. The statute clearly states that once the BTA has acted, the budget commission has no further role.” (at 140)
Factual background
Because the budget commission used an invalid apportionment formula, East Liverpool received less than its proper share of the Undivided Local Government Fund and Undivided Local Government Revenue Assistance Fund for 1998, 1999, and 2000, while other subdivisions received more than their proper shares. The Board of Tax Appeals ordered allocation and distribution under the valid 1990 alternative formula and remanded the matters to the budget commission. The budget commission then ordered the overpaid subdivisions to repay East Liverpool in monthly installments over five years.
Procedural history
East Liverpool challenged the budget commission's apportionment of the Undivided Local Government Fund and Undivided Local Government Revenue Assistance Fund for 1998, 1999, and 2000. After the Board of Tax Appeals remanded the matters to the budget commission, the commission ordered repayment over five years. The Board of Tax Appeals denied East Liverpool's requests for immediate repayment, and the Supreme Court of Ohio reversed and remanded.
Remand instructions
The cause was remanded for further action in compliance with Ohio Revised Code § 5705.37.