The Basics: Seneca County Land Bank

In late 2015, the Seneca County Land Bank was formed. The land bank has provided many changes and improvements to the county, but what exactly is the organization does? The A-T sat down with Seneca County Land Bank President Renee Smith to learn more. "The land bank has multiple goals," Smith said. "Removing blight, increasing property values and bringing properties back on the tax roll are the main goals. "We find properties through the treasurer's office which identifies properties that are severely delinquent on taxes, people come to us with information about properties in their neighborhood (and) the health department provides information on condemned properties," Smith said. She also noted that Tiffin and Fostoria's mayors and township trustees are also welcome to provide information about properties to the Seneca County Land Bank. The Seneca County Land Bank was originally funded through a grant from Ohio Financing Agency. Currently, they are funded by 5% of received taxes as agreed upon by Seneca County Commissioners, Smith said. Since 2015, the land bank has brought 49 properties back on the tax roll. Currently, 53 properties are for sale, most of them being empty lots. Anyone interested in viewing the properties for sale can contact Renee Smith at 419-435-7789. "It's amazing when you go into a neighborhood and you see that property that nobody takes care of and how appreciative people are when it's gone," Smith said. "People are inspired to better care of their properties. There is a property value increase and decrease in crime because there are no longer vacant properties to get into. "All of us on the board are very proud of the work we've done and continue to do. It really is a team effort between us, the treasurer's office, the commissioners and the Health Department," she said.