Since taking office in 2011, Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen M. Scalise CPA, CFE has worked hard to keep her promises to the citizens and property owners of Summit County.
- Kristen was one of the first in the State of Ohio to develop a Veteran ID Card Program, issuing over 8,700 identification cards to honorably discharged military veterans in Summit County and spreading awareness about the importance of recording military discharge papers
- As a moving force in establishing the Summit County Land Bank, Kristen currently serves as Chairperson and has helped lead the efforts to eliminate nearly 2,800 vacant and abandoned properties in Summit County, with hundreds more scheduled to be razed this year.
- Kristen implemented some of the strictest regulations in the State of Ohio to better protect the owners of over $3.2 million held in County unclaimed funds from scams and predatory third parties; her efforts resulted in $2.4 million returned rightfully and fairly to owners from to present.
- Maintaining her commitment to quality customer service, Kristen introduced a new way to pay real estate taxes with secure, fast, and reliable cash payments by utilizing MoneyGram, an in-person payment service conveniently offered at over 40,000 locations nationwide
- Kristen introduced the online Missing Pet Network to unite lost pets with their owners, and she continues to host Kristen’s Kanine Search to help citizens identify lost dogs using a searchable database of approximately 25,000+ registered dogs in Summit County
- Kristen launched a public access module to facilitate electronic recording of property records (e-recording) and offer more accurate online public record searches in the Recorder Division; the improved platform allows property owners and real estate professionals to electronically record, search and download property records such as mortgages, subordinations, assignments, and release
- Kristen developed the Parcel Combine Program to assist citizens owning multiple, adjoined parcels to combine them into one, potentially lowering their property appraisal value and property taxes; the program has benefited thousands of property owners since 2011
- To streamline the property appraisal process and save tax dollars, Kristen equipped residential county appraisers with state-of-the-art, I-Pad's to provide remote access in the field and the ability to sync directly to the Fiscal Office’s Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal database, eliminating excessive data entry and paperwork
- Kristen has aggressively collected nearly $55 million in delinquent real estate taxes through negotiated lien sales and redistributed it to taxing districts entitled to revenues from property tax collections for their operations, including local school districts, public libraries and county services such as Developmental Disabilities Board and County of Summit ADM Board
- Joining forces with local leaders and agencies, Kristen initiated the Delinquent Tax Coalition Committee to address the needs of Summit County homeowners. Since its inception, the committee has helped thousands of residents with housing issues
- Continuing her efforts to protect our community from predatory property owners, Kristen provided proponent testimony in support of Ohio Senate Bill 186, a bill that would prohibit tax delinquent property owners from purchasing additional properties and would require buyers to pay all delinquent taxes and assessments prior to transfer.
- As a proactive and protective measure, Kristen is proud to introduce Fraud Notify, a free automated email alert system to assist Summit County residents in safeguarding against property record fraud.