Scio council approves solicitor appointment, tax changes

Scio Village Council approved three ordinances during its final meeting of 2025, held Dec. 30.

Fiscal Officer Renea Riesen read the first ordinance, 2025-11.1, approving the appointment of current village solicitor Jack Felgenhauer to serve as solicitor for 2026.

Council then approved two emergency ordinances. Ordinance 2025-12.1 amended and revised appropriations for village expenditures for the 2025 calendar year.

Ordinance 2025-12.2 adopted a revised income tax ordinance and repealed Ordinance 15-006 regarding municipal income tax. The changes took effect Jan. 1.

Riesen later updated council on interest earned by the village since May, which totaled $12,375.

Income Tax Administrator Janeen Scott reported 33 delinquent accounts in the village sewer department. She said 15 notices were sent, four accounts were shut off and two were restored the following day. Scott said $527.33 was collected.

Scott also reported she returned $8,535.11 to the state of Ohio.

“It would have messed up our whole total for what we collected this year,” Scott said.

Scott said she deducted that amount from the appropriate years of 2023 and 2024. She reported total income tax collections for 2025 were $65,510.55.

“We had more payroll withholding as far as businesses sending them in than we did the year before,” Scott said. “But we’re still down a little bit.”

Scott said individual income tax payments for 2024 dropped to 98 this year, down from 138 the previous year. She said the decline is tied to landlords not informing the village who is living in rental apartments.

Scott said she has worked to require landlords to report residents.

“Because if we don’t know, then they’re not going to file,” she said.