The Tax Map Department is a division of the County Engineer's office which provides a set of current maps for the Auditor's use in preparing taxes. Ohio law mandates that the County Engineer create and organize the tax maps of his community. These tax maps must be updated on a daily basis to reflect changes in property ownership. This responsibility entails creating and maintaining a detailed inventory of every parcel of land in the county. A map must be drawn for every parcel of property in the county and this map must be to scale. The County Auditor's office uses these detailed tax maps as its official record for property tax purposes.

There are about 1828 maps in the present system, which must be continuously revised by the cartographers to reflect all of the changes as land is subdivided. Each new parcel is checked to see if it is mathematically correct and to see how if it will fit on the map. A new parcel number it is assigned and an approval stamp is placed on the deed, which is then transferred and recorded. The original tax maps, which are links on Mylar drawings, are periodically updated and are available for copies to be made on a daily basis.

Since 1966 aerial photographs have been available which correspond to the tax map pages. These vertical photos can be viewed or be copied with the tax map information superimposed on the aerial. Photographs were taken in 1966, 1978, and 1989-90. Tax maps are constantly updated to show current parcel numbers, and copies can be obtained of the "old tax maps", which show owner names and were used from 1911 until 1962.

Since like the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words," much time and effort is used to insure the quality of the information that appears on the tax maps. Extensive records are accurately kept, which makes the Tax Map department an essential part of Lorain County Government.

Phone: (440) 329-5272