Council hears RITA presentation on outsourcing tax administration; staff to review costs

The South Lebanon City Council on July 16 heard a detailed presentation from Angela Vise of the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) about outsourcing municipal income-tax administration to a shared regional service.

Vise outlined RITA services including taxpayer registration, online filing and payments, secure document upload, FTI (federal tax information) matching for nonfilers and underreporting, compliance work, administrative subpoenas (charged at $1 per subpoena), and an online "My Account" portal for taxpayers. She said RITA serves more than 400 municipalities and processes about $2.5 billion in annual collections for its members.

On projected costs, Vise presented an estimated cost of collections for South Lebanon at about 1.95%–2.5% (roughly $61,000–$67,000 on an annual basis) and said shared services could yield an estimated $164,000–$170,000 in savings versus the city's 2025 budget for tax personnel and software—estimates the presenter said were based on 2025 collections and comparisons with similar municipalities. "We have processed $2,500,000,000 in annual collections for our members," Vise said during her presentation.

Finance Director Tina Williams thanked the presenter and said staff will use the three-week interval before the next meeting to gather answers and prepare legislation if council wants to proceed. Williams noted that RITA administers taxes for about 410 municipalities in Ohio, with roughly 300 of those municipalities under 7,000 in population, and highlighted the technology and compliance advantages for smaller cities.

Council members asked questions about on-site staff, local presence, and how the estimated savings were calculated; RITA said staff and auditors are located in Ohio offices (Xenia, Worthington, Youngstown, and Brecksville) and that many member municipalities retain some local involvement depending on preference.

Mayor Burke and staff did not move to adopt any agreement at the meeting. Council asked that staff provide follow-up information and that any proposed legislation be brought to council after members have had time to review the details.