Times Observer file photos The Warren County School District has signed off on property tax appeal settlements for Aldi and Lowe’s in North Warren. The settlements will see the corporation’s tax bills drop considerably.

The Warren County School District has signed off on two settlement agreements that will see the tax bill for Aldi and Lowe’s in North Warren drop by over half.

The settlements presented to the school board will see Aldi’s assessed value drop from $334,226 to $161,500 while Lowe’s will fall from $1.616 million to $595,000.

Both entities filed appeals last year, according to the settlement documents provided publicly by the WCSD.

They mark the next in a long list of corporations in the county that have appealed their tax bills over the last decade plus.

The 2024 tax year was the focus of both of the settlements. Both filings state that any overpaid taxes will be awarded as credits for future tax bills.

WCSD Director of Business Services Jim Grosch explained to the board earlier this week how the settlement process unfolded.

“They got their appraisals,” he said. “We got appraisals as well for their sites. They agreed to accept our appraisals.”

Grosch said the district was receiving 50 percent of the taxes on parcels but that drops to 17 percent under the settlement when incorporating the common level ratio.

“It’s a significant decrease in the amount of revenue we’re going to get… from these businesses,” he said.

These appeals mark the continued trend of corporate tax appeal settlements tied to the county’s property assessment, which is among the oldest in the state and dates to the 1980s.

The last board of county commissioners approved a seven-figure project to reassess the county. That work is ongoing.

These settlements acknowledge that process and require that reevaluation of the properties “be done in good faith.”

The county commissioners earlier this week cited corporate tax appeals as part of the reason for a soft hiring freeze and a tighter control over expenditures.