COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has formed a Property Tax Reform Working Group to look into issues surrounding property tax increases that have impacted Ohioans throughout the state.
DeWine first mentioned his plan to form the group during a press conference after he signed House Bill 96, which formed the state's budget.
"As property values have increased in Ohio over the last decade, the resulting property tax increases have strained many family budgets and challenged the financial security of many on fixed incomes," said DeWine in a press release.
The working group was formed to examine the issues tied to high property taxes, and find ways to provide "meaningful" relief to homeowners and businesses without cutting funding sources for schools, fire, police, EMS, libraries and developmental disabilities.
Earlier this year, a group circulated petitions to try to get an item that would have eliminated property taxes in Ohio altogether on the November ballot. That initiative fell short of gathering enough signatures by the June 30 deadline, but the group said they don't plan to give up. That initiative, if it made it onto a ballot and was approved by voters, would have left services like schools, fire, police, EMS and many others without the revenue source that property taxes currently provide.
"Building upon previously expressed concerns and work done at many levels of government, I am forming this Property Tax Reform Working Group to issue concrete recommendations for meaningful property tax reforms that address the needs of property owners, are affordable to our state budget and protect local schools and other services," said DeWine.
According to DeWine, the group has been asked to issue a report with proposals by September 30.
The group is being co-chaired by former legislators Bill Seitz and Pat Tiberi, along with a former congressman and president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, DeWine said.
DeWine vetoed multiple items in the budget bill that sought to provide relief for property owners.
WCPO 9 News identified at least four budget items out of 67 vetoed from HB-96 that dealt with property taxes:
- Property Tax: County Budget Commission Authority & Procedure: This provision would have changed the authority of county budget commissions, allowing them to unilaterally shrink a school district levy passed by voters.
- Cash Balance Carry-Over: The provision would have put a 40% cap on a school district's carryover revenue, or the unspent funds a district has on hand at the end of a fiscal year. Under the measure, those funds would have had to be returned to taxpayers.
- 20-Mill Floor Calculation: It would have required emergency and substitute tax levies, incremental growth levies, conversion levies and the property tax portion of combined income tax and property tax levies to be included in the 20-mill floor calculation for school funding purposes.
- School District Property Tax Levy Restrictions: This measure would have restricted the ability to put emergency levies on the ballot or request an increase to a current levy. In vetoing it, DeWine stated, "These levies serve as important tools for school districts as they seek to maintain their long-term financial stability."
Ohio lawmakers, who are on summer recess, still have an opportunity to override DeWine's vetoes.
