SIDNEY — Shelby County Auditor Amy Berning has announced she has authorized a refund of $500,000 from the “Real Estate Assessment Fund” to the various taxing authorities within Shelby County.

The REA Fund is a special restricted fund maintained on the Auditor’s books to help defray the expenses associated with appraisal of property and the related assessment of taxes.

In all, 50 taxing entities will receive refunds. The amount to be received by the various entities was calculated on a pro-rata basis based upon the amount of taxes collected on behalf of each taxing authority for the 2017 tax year. The taxing entities include school districts, townships and villages, the Shelby County Health Deptartment, the Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Tri-County Mental Health Board, and various ambulance, fire, and rescue services.

In a letter to the financial managers of the various taxing authorities, Berning said “One of the goals of this office is to work as efficiently as possible so as to save funds that can be refunded to the schools and other subdivisions. We appreciate your hard work and are happy to distribute these funds back to you.”