Given this year’s record-setting property value increases, my office engaged in a variety of community outreach efforts. We have conducted more than 5,400 reviews with individual property owners, logged 7,000 phone calls, and delivered presentations to hundreds of taxpayers at some 80 community groups and forums. The most frequently asked question at these various engagements is “how will an increase in property value affect my tax bill?”
The public has grown tired of moves that shift more and more of the state’s tax burden to support vital public services onto the backs of property owners. The partnership between state government and local communities that provides for the sharing of resources has suffered a setback in recent years, forcing communities to look to local property owners more and more to fund needed services.
In the November Election, there were more than 50 tax levies on the ballot in Montgomery, Greene, Warren and Miami Counties. There were eleven levies on the ballot this year in Montgomery County asking for new money totaling more than $39 million in additional revenue. Despite a total value increase of more than 30% in the county, voters approved five of those requests for new money.
I have said it before, we do not have a value problem in Ohio; we have a tax problem.
Updates in 42 counties this year resulting in never before experienced increases in property values has raised awareness of Ohio’s over-reliance on the property tax and the growing property tax burden like never before. Rather than seeking short-term “fixes” that fail to address the real problem or only provide tax relief to a limited number of property owners, we need to focus on more far-reaching solutions.
This will take time. The burden we face did not happen overnight, and we will not fix it overnight. Let us focus our efforts on finding real solutions with significant results.
In the meantime, updating Ohio’s stagnant Homestead Exemption program would be a step in the right direction. Providing relief to those who are on fixed incomes or unfairly carrying more than their share of the state’s tax burden is a meaningful and worthwhile step to support.
In his critique of the property tax, Dr. Stocker observed that the tax has been “made worse by the well-intentioned repair work of hordes of amateur tinkerers.” As we work to address Ohio’s property tax burden, let us not fall prey to knee jerk reactions and quick fixes that really do not address the real issues.
Karl Keith is the Montgomery County Auditor.
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