Incumbent Matt Oestreich cites commitment to customer service
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Republican incumbent Wood County Auditor Matt Oestreich believes a blend in tax types best serves Ohioans, has worked to make tax information available to local residents, and cites his commitment to customer service in his office.
Oestreich has been with the county auditor’s office since 2000, when he started out as a 20-year-old inspector in the weights and measures section of the office, which ensures the accuracy of devices like gas pumps and scales.
He later moved into the position of assistant chief deputy auditor, then was elected county auditor in 2018.
“It’s a job I love. I love solving problems,” he said.
Under Oestreich’s leadership, the auditor’s office received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, marking the 24th consecutive year the office has earned this distinction.
During his most recent term, Oestreich installed two new software systems to improve efficiencies, lower capital expenditures, and enhance security. He said his approach prioritizes efficiency, accountability, and fiscally responsible service to the residents of Wood County.
“I’m committed to spending every tax dollar as if it was my own,” he said.
Oestreich said he has streamlined the staff in his office from 21 to 14½ employees by rebalancing duties.
He has watched as estate taxes and personal property taxes disappeared in Ohio. Oestreich does not support the abolishment of property taxes in Ohio. Through property taxes, Ohio collects $96 million from businesses and utilities that otherwise would pay no taxes in the state, he said.
“Should that happen, that would be a major change,” he said. “I believe a blended approach is best.”
Oestreich said “governments need to get more efficient,” and to that end his office has replaced its previous “clunky” real estate website.
The new site is updated at the end of each day. “We want to make the information available as quickly as possible.”
Oestreich said he would like to see the income requirements for homestead exemptions to be bumped higher, potentially to at least $100,000.
“That would get more seniors in the program,” he said. “These are the people who have been paying their entire lives.”
Oestreich predicted that AI will one day be employed to help with property reappraisals, to help make them less expensive and more accurate. However, he added that he will still want a licensed human appraiser in the field.
As county auditor, Oestreich serves as the county’s chief fiscal officer and appraiser, sealer of weights and measures, and secretary to the county Budget Commission, Board of Revision, and Data Processing Board. He currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the County Auditors Association of Ohio.
He is a member and past director of the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club and serves as the Kiwanis liaison to the Eastwood Key Club. He serves on the finance committee of the Wood County Historical Society, is a friend of Wood County Parks, and has coached youth sports.
A lifelong resident of Wood County, Oestreich is a graduate of Elmwood High School and holds an associate degree in agricultural business from Owens Community College. He farms in Montgomery Township, where he resides with his wife and their three children.
“As a lifelong member of this community, it has been an honor to serve in the Auditor’s Office for more than 25 years. I look forward to continuing to serve Wood County with integrity, transparency, and dedication in the years ahead.”
Challenger Mark Wongrowski wants to make information more accessible to citizens
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Democratic challenger for the post of Wood County Auditor, Mark Wongrowski of Bowling Green, would like to use his experience in the private sector to improve customer service.
Wongrowski grew up on a livestock farm in the Eastwood area, worked at Jeep, Libbey Glass, and has been employed the last seven years at First Solar in supply chains and capital expansion.
“My focus is to bring in new ideas with a continuous improvement mindset,” he said.
First on his list is bringing more transparency to the auditor’s office. Though the office website provides local residents with real estate information and ways to factor the effect of levies, it should be easier to obtain the data, he said.
“You have to go through layers. It’s a poorly designed website,” Wongrowski said. “I want to bring in modern tools for people to access how their money is being used. It needs to be easy for them to access the data.”
This accessibility is even more important now with local residents experiencing “stagnated wages and escalating costs” for food, gas and housing, he said.
“I want to make it more transparent for them,” to calculate how much of their tax dollars is going to such services as EMS, police or roadwork. “I want to bring in modern tools for people to access how their money is being used. There are enormous opportunities for improvements to make it more accessible.”
“I want to come into the county office and accelerate the modernization of our information access,” he said. “We have the right as a community to see our county data in a timely manner that’s accurate and discrete.”
No one in Wood County should miss out on tax relief programs because the process is confusing or unclear, Wongrowski said. “I will emphasize simple eligibility guidance through clear checklists and plain‑language explanations so residents know what they qualify for and what documentation is required,” he said.
Wongrowski believes he could assist the county at becoming more secure from cyberattacks.
“We need to make sure that we are at the forefront of data protection – so we stop being a target for cyberware attacks,” he said.
“The auditor’s foremost responsibility is to safeguard public dollars with strong internal controls, transparency, and year‑round discipline. Fiscal integrity means more than balancing the books, it means treating cybersecurity and system security as core financial responsibilities,” Wongrowski said.
Wongrowski said he sees room for reform in Ohio’s property tax system, but not elimination of the taxes.
“I think that the state government needs to hold up their end of school funding,” citing the dwindling amount coming from the state for public schools.
“The community’s only recourse is to implement a levy locally,” he said. “There are other options for local school funding, but it’s just as important to reclaim our funds from Columbus to bring it back to our local communities.”
Wongrowski also said he believes the county auditor should be more forthcoming about projects like the Meta data center being built in Middleton Township.
“The auditor’s office needs to participate in bringing forward information to the community,” he said. “We should not be having extensive conversations behind closed doors.”
He also objects to tax abatements for such developments.
“In general, I think those large scale projects should be able to pay for themselves,” he said.
