St. Clair Township Sues for Property Tax Revenue Payments

St. Clair Township in Butler County, Ohio has filed suit against the City of Hamilton, the Butler County Commissioners, Butler County Treasurer, and Butler County Auditor to recover lost tax revenue owed to it for properties that were annexed and excluded from the Township into the City of Hamilton.

Ohio Revised Code Section 709.19 provides that when property is annexed and excluded from a township, that township is entitled to be made whole via payments of a portion of the property taxes it would have collected over the next twelve years.

In 2016, the City of Hamilton and County Commissioners acted to exclude from St. Clair Township thousands of parcels that had previously been annexed from the township. This action triggered the obligation to make St. Clair Township whole. The City of Hamilton has thus far refused to comply with its obligations under Ohio law.

The complaint details the missteps along the way in excluding the property as well as the failure to make St. Clair Township whole.

The case has been assigned to Judge Craig Stephens of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

St. Clair Township is represented by Chris Finney of Finney Law Firm and Curt Hartman of the Law Firm of Curt C. Hartman. Mr. Hartman is lead counsel in the case.

The Journal News has coverage of the lawsuit here.

Read the complaint below or here.

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