09/07/2025

Ohio property tax debate must consider the vulnerable: Amber C. Gibbs

Amber C. Gibbs

As a Cuyahoga County homeowner, I understand that property taxes have become unaffordable for many. Reappraisals can make it difficult for families to budget expenses long-term, especially as changes in our economy cost us more at the grocery store and at the gas pump. It’s reasonable that lawmakers and homeowners alike want to take action to provide economic relief to Ohio residents. However, I hope that lawmakers – and voters – will recognize the many vital community services that will suffer with significant property tax reductions and/or if we abolish property taxes completely.

We hear a lot about how schools and libraries will be negatively impacted in the property tax debate, but we hear much less about how reducing and/or eliminating property taxes will impact public safety services like police and fire, or affect real, vulnerable people, like the elderly and people with disabilities.

Ohio ranks fourth in the country in terms of spending on services for people with developmental disabilities (DD), and we can proudly say that Ohio’s DD services are among the best in the country. As the CEO of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD), a taxpayer-funded agency that provides critical services to support people with developmental disabilities, I see every day how lives are dramatically improved by the services funded by our property tax dollars. Cuyahoga DD serves 15,000 people with DD every year, supporting and empowering them to live, learn, work, and play in the community. Our services are primarily funded by a 3.9-mill continuous property tax levy that Cuyahoga County taxpayers last approved in 2005. These services include:

• Early intervention supports for our community’s youngest residents to help them meet milestones;
• Supports for students in schools and at home;
• Job training and employment connections for adults with DD;
• Housing, transportation, and independent living services; and
• Inclusion and advocacy support that helps people with DD live meaningful lives.

Beyond supporting the work we do at Cuyahoga DD, property taxes pay the salaries of direct support professionals (DSPs) who provide direct, day-to-day care for people with DD. These DSPs are a critical part of the DD system in Ohio, which is made up of a network of county boards of DD and certified providers. These providers ensure health and safety for people with DD and make sure they can meaningfully participate in their communities. These providers also employ thousands of people who pay taxes and contribute in important ways to our communities.

Property taxes pay for someone to help a person with significant physical disabilities get in and out of bed every day. Property taxes pay for a job coach to help a person with a disability work in their community. Property taxes pay for transportation services that allow people with disabilities to get to and from appointments, community events, and volunteer experiences.

Property taxes in Ohio have become unmanageable, and we do need thoughtful, practical property tax reform. That reform, however, cannot come at the expense of our most vulnerable community members. We cannot talk about reform without also talking about alternative funding sources for critical community services, like DD services, police and fire, services for the elderly, and, yes, schools and libraries, too.