What SUMMIT COUNTY FISCAL OFFICER does

The Summit County Fiscal Office is the consolidated fiscal and tax administration office of Summit County, Ohio, headquartered at 175 South Main Street in Akron. Formed in 2001 through a charter amendment that merged the previously separate offices of County Auditor, County Treasurer, and County Recorder, the office operates four internal divisions (Auditor, Recorder, Services, Treasurer) and serves as the statutory tax, recording, and licensing authority for all of Summit County under Ohio Revised Code. Its functional responsibilities span property appraisal and the sexennial reappraisal of approximately 262,000 parcels, collection of real estate taxes across 74 taxing districts with roughly 270,000 tax bills mailed per semi-annual cycle, real estate document recording and e-recording, lodging excise tax collection at 5.5%, weights and measures consumer protection, fuel quality testing (the only such program in Ohio covering ~178 stations biannually), and a portfolio of licensing programs (dog, kennel, cigarette dealer, vendor, firewood, manufactured home). It also administers tax-relief programs including the Homestead Exemption (averaging $535/year in savings), Owner-Occupancy Tax Reduction, Current Agricultural Use Value, and Forest Land, plus unclaimed funds recovery and veteran ID card issuance.

The underlying technology stack is composed of third-party web platforms rather than proprietary software: a JA Purity-based Joomla CMS for the public website, an ArcGIS-based GIS portal with a 2026 Reappraisal Dashboard, a propertyaccess.summitoh.net search portal, TylerHost (Tyler Technologies) for document management and SmartFile online form submission, ACI Payments (formerly Official Payments Corporation) for online/phone tax payment processing, DocuPet for dog licensing, MoneyGram for in-person cash tax payments, and Simplifile/CSC/eRecording Partners Network for e-recording. The Accounts Payable and Payroll Divisions process disbursement and payroll for the county's nearly 4,000 employees, and the office manages more than $1 billion in county funds annually through its Investment Department.

Revenue mechanics are fee-and-tax-based rather than commercial: transaction fees for dog licensing ($18 annual / $54 three-year / $180 lifetime), document recording ($34 base / $8 add'l page), vendor ($50) and cigarette ($125) licenses, a 5.5% lodging excise tax, and pass-through real estate tax collection distributed across 74 taxing districts (county, municipalities, schools, townships, special districts). GTM is direct-to-citizen via in-person offices, web portal, phone, community clinics, mailed tax bills, and semi-annual mailed property value notices. The office has received the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting continuously since 1986 (or 1988 per a conflicting source) and is led by Fiscal Officer Kristen M. Scalise, CPA, CFE, in office since May 2011.

Name

SUMMIT COUNTY FISCAL OFFICER

Legal name

Summit County Fiscal Office

Website

https://fiscaloffice.summitoh.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1803

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Summit County Fiscal Office is the consolidated county government office in Akron, Ohio, providing property tax assessment and collection, real estate recording, licensing, consumer protection (weights/measures, fuel quality), and tax-relief programs to all Summit County residents, businesses, and the ~262,000 parcels across 74 taxing districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Tax Administration

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130), Administration of Economic Programs (9261), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Tax & Revenue Administration (Local) (BPAIACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tax Return Filing, Processing & Assessment (BPAIADAC), Taxpayer Services, Education & Outreach (BPAIADAM), Excise, VAT/Sales Tax & Indirect Tax Administration (BPAIADAH)

Keywords

• Property tax administration
• Real estate tax collection
• Document recording services
• Government licensing services
• Weights and measures enforcement

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron, Ohio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Tax Collection: The Treasurer Division collects real estate taxes semi-annually (March 1 and July 31) across 74 tax districts, mailing approximately 270,000 tax bills each collection period. Revenue is distributed to county government, municipalities, school districts, townships, and special districts. Approximately 70% of personal property tax revenue is allocated to primary and secondary education.
2. Licensing Services: The office issues various licenses including dog licenses ($18 annually, $54 for three-year, $180 lifetime), kennel licenses, cigarette dealer licenses ($125 per physical location), vendor licenses ($50 ST-1), firewood licenses, and manufactured home registrations. Dog licensing revenue supports the county's pet identification program.
3. Recording and Document Fees: Recording Division collects fees for document recording: $34 for first two pages, $8 for each additional page. Deeds cost $4 per copy ($5 certified). Fees support the maintenance of real estate ownership records and encumbrance filings.
4. Lodging Excise Tax: The office administers and collects a 5.5% Lodging Excise Tax on all lodging transactions in Summit County. Revenue is distributed to local municipalities, the Akron Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Development Finance Authority of Summit County.
5. Tax Programs and Exemptions Administration: The office administers tax reduction programs including Homestead Exemption (average $535/year savings per eligible homeowner), Owner-Occupancy Tax Reduction, Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV), and Forest Land tax reduction. These programs reduce property tax liability for qualifying residents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Summit County Fiscal Office is the consolidated county government entity that administers property tax assessment, billing, and collection across approximately 262,000 parcels and 74 taxing districts; records real estate documents; issues licenses (dog, kennel, cigarette, vendor, firewood, manufactured homes); enforces weights and measures and conducts fuel quality testing; manages over $1 billion in county funds and payroll for nearly 4,000 employees; and delivers tax relief programs such as the Homestead Exemption and the Real Estate Discount (RED) Program.

Product overview

The Summit County Fiscal Office is a county government administrative office (not a technology company) that provides a broad portfolio of fiscal, tax, licensing, recording, and regulatory services to Summit County, Ohio residents. The office's core offerings include property tax assessment and collection services, real estate document recording, various licensing services (dogs, vendors, cigarettes, firewood, kennels), consumer protection through weights and measures enforcement, fuel quality testing, and financial reporting. Key service modules include the Property Tax Information Portal for online property searches and payments, tax relief programs (Homestead Exemption, Owner-Occupancy Reduction, Real Estate Discount), e-Recording services for document submission, and GIS data downloads. The office partners with DocuPet for dog licensing, ACI Payments for tax processing, and e-recording vendors (Simplifile, CSC, ePN) for document recording. The Fiscal Officer also manages unclaimed funds, veteran ID cards, and agricultural property valuation programs. Services are delivered primarily through in-person offices, web portals, and phone systems rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Tax Information Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Average $535 per year in property tax savings for Homestead Exemption recipients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• DocuPetcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025DocuPet is a world-leading pet profile, lost pet, and licensing platform. Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise launched a partnership with DocuPet to modernize and enhance dog licensing services. The partnership provides residents with an easy online licensing experience and complimentary HomeSafe 24/7 lost pet service that helps reunite lost pets with families. This is a key modernization initiative for the Services Division's dog licensing program.
• ACI Payments, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationACI Payments, Inc. (formerly Official Payments Corporation) provides the secure payment processing platform for online and phone tax payments. The Fiscal Office uses this platform for property tax payments, charging a nominal service fee for debit/credit cards and a flat $1 fee for electronic check payments.
• SimplifilecoreTechnology or IntegrationSimplifile is an e-recording vendor partner enabling electronic document recording with the Summit County Fiscal Office Recorder Division.
• Corporation Service Company (CSC)coreTechnology or IntegrationCSC provides e-recording services for electronic document recording with the Summit County Fiscal Office Recorder Division.
• eRecording Partners Network (ePN)coreTechnology or IntegrationePN provides e-recording services enabling electronic document recording with the Summit County Fiscal Office Recorder Division.
• TylerHostcoreTechnology or IntegrationTylerHost provides the web-based document management and recording platform used by the Summit County Recorder Division for online document access and recording (summitcountyoh-web.tylerhost.net).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Maricopa County Treasurer: Maricopa County Treasurer's Office in Arizona performs tax collection and investment management at a much larger scale. Provides a benchmark for how a county treasurer's office operates in a different state framework.
• Cook County Treasurer: Cook County Treasurer in Illinois administers property tax collection for one of the largest counties in the U.S. Useful peer for benchmarking scale of operations, payment processing, and delinquency management.

Others

• County Auditor's Association of Ohio (CAAO): Industry association representing Ohio county auditors and fiscal officers. Relevant peer as the trade body that sets professional standards for the leader of Summit County Fiscal Office and provides legislative advocacy affecting the office's mandate.

Direct peers

• Hamilton County Auditor: Hamilton County Auditor in Cincinnati administers property assessments, tax relief programs, and weights and measures for a comparable Ohio county. Operates as a standalone auditor rather than a merged fiscal office, providing structural contrast.
• Montgomery County Auditor: Montgomery County Auditor's Office in Dayton administers property tax assessments, exemptions, and weights and measures for an Ohio county of similar scale. Functional overlap with the Summit County Auditor Division.
• Franklin County Auditor: Franklin County Auditor's Office handles property valuation, tax billing, and Homestead Exemption administration for Ohio's most populous county. Directly comparable in function to Summit County's Auditor Division but at a larger scale.
• Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office: Cuyahoga County, Ohio's fiscal office performs the same statutory functions (Auditor, Recorder, Treasurer merged) as Summit County, including property tax assessment, recording, and tax relief programs. It is the most direct peer given identical Ohio Revised Code authority and similar merged charter structure.

Regional players

• Butler County Auditor: Butler County Auditor administers real estate taxes, exemptions, and weights and measures for a southwestern Ohio county. Comparable to Summit County's fiscal operations in scope and statutory basis.
• Stark County Auditor: Stark County Auditor is a neighboring Ohio county fiscal office providing property tax assessment, CAUV, and related services. Similar scale and function as Summit County's property tax operations.
• Mahoning County Auditor: Mahoning County Auditor in Youngstown handles property assessment, tax billing, and exemptions for an Ohio county. Performs comparable statutory duties under the same Ohio Revised Code framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/fiscaloffice
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Summit-County-Fiscal-Office/179899992110068
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/summit-county-fiscal-officer

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SUMMIT COUNTY FISCAL OFFICER