Your Summit County property tax bill this time may be higher than you expected, but there's likely a reason why...even if your appraised property value went down.

"There's a multiple of reasons why the taxes could increase," Summit County fiscal officer Kristen Scalise tells AkronNewsNow.com, "but most likely, a levy was probably passed in their area."

School levies passed in November start collecting the following year, so school issues approved by voters then...will show up in your First Half 2012 property tax bill.

Scalise says property owners can check the county's website to find out where their property taxes are going.

"And if they pull up their parcel, there is a place that they can click to see where their taxes go," Scalise says, "and it will show the very distributions, including any levy they have to pay into."

You can pay your property taxes to the Fiscal Office...with a U.S. postmark by the due date.

You can also pay at a participating bank, in person, by phone, online, or something that's new this year, at MoneyGram outlets.

A decision made by Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise to hire the daughter of a county employee has sparked some controversy.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports Sarah Skapin Hegnauer was hired after her job as as a community outreach organizer at the Summit County Board of Elections was eliminated on March 5 in order to cut costs.

Both of her parents, Jill and Jeffrey Skapin, work for the county. Jill Skapin is one of the highest paid county employees working as the communications director for County Executive Russ Pry. Her annual salary is nearly $110,000.

Hegnauer was the only person interviewed for the public relations opening. The job was not advertised.

Scalise says she never talked to Jill Skapin about hiring her daughter.

Jill Skapin and her daughter are active in democratic politics and have donated money to Scalise's election campaign.

On the Web: www.ohio.com

Summit County is looking to create a county-wide land bank in an effort to redevelop neighborhoods and the county's real estate market.

Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise spoke with AkronNewsNow.com about what the proposed legislation will do for neighborhoods affected by foreclosures and other reasons.

"It's going to help those neighborhoods by allowing us to acquire , rehabilitate, and demolish or re-market abandoned and vacant properties," she explains.

The legislation proposes to hire a Northeast Ohio non-profit to assist Summit County in developing a County Land Reutilization Corporation.

This plan has been in the works for several months now. The County realizes that with homes going vacant due to foreclosures and property values are dropping fast.

Summit County Proposes Land Bank by Akron NewsNow

"The Akron Community Foundation has agreed to commit  $15,000 to the project while the GAR Foundation will contribute $25,000," says Scalise.

"I'm hoping this legislation will be the first step in addressing and correcting this problem."

She says that it was a team effort in terms of getting this proposal on the table to make Summit County neighborhoods vibrant and resourceful.

"In today's economic climate, myself, the County Executive, and Council are looking at every option available to make life better for the citizens of Summit County." 

Scalise says County Council will be presented with the legislation Monday, December 5th.