CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio’s simmering frustration over soaring property tax bills has erupted this year into a sweeping tax debate, with lawmakers responding to voter unrest and a citizen-led campaign to abolish the tax by flooding the Statehouse with proposals to cap, freeze or rewrite the system.
From bills to limit unvoted increases to a constitutional amendment that would erase property taxes entirely, the fight has drawn in homeowners, schools and local governments across the state — and put pressure on legislators to deliver relief before next year’s bills go out.
The Ohio House recently approved two measures — House Bills 186 and 335 — to slow automatic tax hikes tied to rising property values. Together, they would cap growth in school levies and inside millage at the rate of inflation, with state estimates projecting about $2.4 billion in homeowner savings over three years.
The reforms are unfolding against the backdrop of the citizen initiative to abolish property taxes altogether — an effort that’s galvanized lawmakers to act. “It perhaps took that push, like it often does, to get something extraordinary done,” House Speaker Matt Huffman said.
Dozens of other proposals are also in play, including expanded senior exemptions, new local credits, and a plan to freeze taxes for low-income homeowners. But it remains unclear whether the mix of caps, credits and backfills will satisfy voters who are angry over climbing bills, or quiet calls to scrap the system altogether.
The property tax debate is unfolding at a precarious time for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, which says it’s running out of money after nearly two decades without a levy increase. Officials warn that rising costs and shrinking collections could soon force the agency to seek more funding from voters.
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The agency relies on a 3.9-mill continuous levy that voters approved in 2005, with the promise they wouldn’t be asked for more funding until at least 2015. Federal pandemic aid and conservative budgeting stretched that pledge a decade further, but CEO Amber Gibbs told County Council the relief is ending as expenses climb and tax collections fall.
“Our current projections say that in 2028, we won’t be able to pay all of our bills,” Gibbs said. Property taxes provide nearly 80% of the board’s $139.5 million annual budget. Collections have dropped from $117 million to $110 million, and the agency expects a $30 million deficit this year.
The board plans to consider a new levy within two or three years to balance the budget, though details haven’t been decided. “We are not in the details of how much or what kind of levy, but we do believe it would have to involve some kind of tax levy,” Gibbs said.
Nearly half the budget goes to Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers that help residents live independently. Cuyahoga County pays about 40% of those costs — roughly $88 million a year — and the number of recipients has grown from 3,662 in 2014 to about 5,100 this year. Gibbs said that if revenues don’t keep up, the board could have to scale back programs such as early intervention or respite care.
“Our services have evolved over time, and so people with developmental disabilities in our community now are living different lives; they’re living in the community; they’re living more independently; they’re working, they’re volunteering; they’re very active, productive members of our society,” Gibbs said. “The services that we provide allow and support all of these people to live very full lives that make our communities better.”
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