He claims his fight to reduce state-mandated property value hikes is the reason he is being prosecuted.
“In 2020, COVID-19 caused massive losses in tax revenue. So, the State sought to take advantage of the recent housing boom by declaring that property valuations (which drive property taxes) should be based only on sales data from 2019, not the three-year period required by the Ohio Revised Code,” the statement reads. “Mr. Reynolds is currently and aggressively fighting the State’s illegal attempts to increase taxes, and his reward is an investigation and prosecution by the Ohio Attorney General.”
Reynolds’ office performed the mandatory 2020 property reassessment which caused sticker shock for some residents and prompted several to challenge their new values.
The county property tax jump was due in part to the state-mandated 2020 property reassessment. All 165,000 parcels were reassessed and increases varied by neighborhood according to sales data. The state ordered an average 20% increase, and Reynolds is battling that amount in an appeal to the state tax commissioner.
Reynolds claims the value challenge and his prosecution “are simply too convenient to ignore.”
“Removing Mr. Reynolds will only set a precedent that when duly-elected public officials put up a fight, they can be silenced and removed from office based on even weak and spurious accusations of criminal conduct, not proof,” the filing reads. “The residents of Butler County elected Roger Reynolds to protect their interests. They have rights too, and they have a right to the continued presence of an auditor who has been challenging the tax commissioner’s disregard of Ohio statutory requirements.”
Yost wouldn’t comment on Reynolds’ assertions, but Butler County Commissioner T.C. Rogers told the Journal-News the seem “like a stretch.”
Bribery is the most serious charge
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor received the suspension request from Attorney General Dave Yost on Feb. 14, because he has been indicted on three felony and two misdemeanor charges. If he is found guilty he faces up to 7 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
On the most serious charge of bribery, Reynolds’ statement says there is no evidence he bribed anyone: “Courts across the country have explained that it is not criminal for a local public official to influence actions outside the scope of his/her office.”
When the Journal-News asked previously how bribery can be proved since no money changed hands, Yost replied:
“The definition of bribery is more than just, I hand cash to you, but I need to not ethically try this case in the court of public opinion, but in the court of law,” Yost said. “So we will produce all the evidence; this has been a months long investigation about this, there’s a lot more to come out.”
Attached to the suspension request was an investigation overview from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
It says developers Brian Jimenez and Tim Haid have written notes and a recording of a phone call where Reynolds allegedly asked for a $200,000 “cash payment” to serve as a “consultant and use his political influence to get a TIF, tax increment financing, assigned to an area of Hamilton Mason Road in Butler County to assist in the development of properties along the road.”
Jimenez and Haid were trying to develop a property on Hamilton Mason Road owned by 88-year-old Gerald Parks — who filed a civil lawsuit against Reynolds in September — for a senior living community that would rival a development on Reynolds’ dad’s land across the street. He also allegedly offered to sell the developers 2.8 acres of property his office values at $21,000 for $500,000.
Response to state’s charges
Reynolds’ attorney addressed the charges saying they were essentially harmless business conversations.
“The State contends that Mr. Reynolds ‘suggested that the developer pay him a $200,000 ‘consulting’ fee to guide the development proposal through the approval process.’ The fact that the State used the term ‘suggested,’ rather than ‘demanded’ or ‘requested,’ shows that either the State or its witnesses are not so confident about the words actually used during the alleged conversation,” the filing reads.
“The State’s equivocation is likely because they already know that the $200,000 offer was actually to buy access to the sewer system on the Reynolds property. Emails between Mr. Reynolds and the developer — emails which were previously provided to the State — confirm that Mr. Reynolds was discussing the developer’s need for sewer access.”
The filing refers to emails they attached as exhibits, they briefly mention a sewer easement but there is no mention of the $200,000.
Reynolds also stands accused of trying to influence county officials and trustees in Liberty and West Chester townships to provide about $1.1 million in TIF funds to facilitate the sale of his father’s property. He says there was nothing wrong with that.
“The State alleges that Mr. Reynolds ‘made direct contact with public officials’ in an effort to secure Tax Increment Financing that would benefit the development of his family’s property. And? Mr. Reynolds is allowed to make contact with public officials, just like any other citizen,” the filing reads.
“If he had an interest in an action outside the control of his office, then he could approach the appropriate public officials, just as any citizen in Butler County has the right to do. Mr. Reynolds does not give up his private, constitutional rights simply because he has been elected to public office. The Ohio Ethics Commission has explicitly stated that a public official has the right to assert his private, personal interests as a citizen, even in front of the very public office which he serves.”
As for inflating the sale of property adjacent to Parks’ land Reynolds claims the price was market driven.
Auditor says temporary suspension unwarranted
Reynolds pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment last week, his trial is scheduled for Aug. 15.
This story has been in the news since the sheriff began investigating in August and the lawsuit was filed in September. Reynolds said this adverse publicity has not hampered is office operations at all, so therefore a temporary suspension is unnecessary.
“The facts alleged do not suggest that Mr. Reynolds’ ‘administration of, or conduct in the performance of the duties of, the official’s office, as covered by the charges, adversely affects the functioning of that office or adversely affects the rights and interests of the public.’ Mr. Reynolds has never committed any crime, and a suspension under R.C. 3.16 is unwarranted.”
Several county officials have called on Reynolds to resign immediately, Rogers is the latest, “he’s innocent until proven guilty but there’s been so much more coming out that he should step down and work on his defense, he’s going to need it.”
The chief justice on Tuesday empaneled the special commission that will decide whether Reynolds should be suspended pending the outcome of his criminal case. The retired judges on the panel all served on county common pleas courts: David E. Cain, Franklin County, L. Alan Goldsberry, Athens County and James L. Kimbler, Medina County. The law states that at least one member of the panel must be a member of the same political party as the public official, which in this case is Republican. Cain is the lone Republican.
The judges will be paid $84.54 hourly and reimbursed for expenses. The AGs office is responsible for paying the bill. Visiting judges have been appointed by the high court to handle both Reynolds’ criminal and civil cases, they are being paid $77.74 hourly. The county is responsible for $7 per hour of that rate and travel expenses, the high court pays the remainder.
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