“You know the old saying it’s not over ‘til it’s over, well that’s where we are,” Dixon told the Journal-News. “The way that government works on the legislative side there’s vehicles moving all the time so we may be able to get that done.”
He said after discussions with state lawmakers and leadership they are still hoping to implement the three-year average rule, but there are also measures in the works to cap property value increases at two or three percent, addressing the 20-mill floor for school funding and “increasing some exemptions the state has taken away.”
Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester Twp. was able to get a provision in the Senate’s version of the biennial budget that would have nearly halved the average 42% property value hike, but it was yanked in conference committee before the final budget was signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., told the Journal-News it came down to “the last hour of the last day” of the conference committee negotiations and it was removed because the members wanted to address it as a stand alone bill — which Hall has already introduced.
“We were obviously very pissed off, which is an understatement, because we knew this was our window to get something done,” Hall said.
The Ohio Homeowners Relief Act has had three hearings in the House Ways and Means Committee, where it was supported by Butler County officials and Ohio REALTORS. It is opposed by the County Auditors Association of Ohio.
Hall said while many county auditors opposed the measure during the Ways and Means Committee hearing, the entire association lodged opposition during the budget conference committee stage, along with some of the school districts — they get the lion’s share of property taxes — and “the governor’s team they ultimately were not happy with the bill either.”
It’s not over yet
Lang told the Journal-News he is working now on finding a House bill to amend that is further along in the legislative process than Hall’s, with the same provision he tried to pass with the budget. The only difference will be he is adding a three-year sunset to the legislation.
“I’m assuming the House had this taken out in conference committee because they were concerned as some of the auditors were that there might be a better way to do this in the future,” he said. “I’m going to say alright fine, sunset this in three years and that will force us as legislators to get something done that will be more suitable.”
Agricultural properties are going up a whopping 110% and he had a provision to fix that also, which he’ll add to the new vehicle that can hopefully gain traction and become law this year. That’s so taxpayers won’t be shell-shocked when they get their tax bills in February.
DeWine’s Press Secretary Dan Tierney told the Journal-News the governor did not ask that the provision be removed from the budget, nor did he threaten a veto. He said they have voiced a number of concerns about the measure and its impact statewide to the general assembly.
“Everybody has to look at this with how it affects all 88 counties, you need to have a consistent policy across all 88 counties,” Tierney said. “We are certainly not opposed to reviewing a legislative fix that makes sense that can address this in a way that addresses some of the concerns we brought up.”
Properties statewide are reappraised every six years, and property values are updated every third year based on sales data. The shifts are reflected on tax bills the following year.
The band-aid fix involved requiring Ohio Tax Commissioner Patricia Harris to give equal weight to sales in the three years prior to the reevaluation year. Harris put heavy emphasis on 2022 sales — which produced the huge the increases — which were impacted by pandemic-induced issues.
Hall said although the “window” closed on that solution there are other options that will be addressed when the legislature returns from summer break.
“George and I are not done, I want to make that very clear, we will continue to fight this fight because this is a very important issue,” Hall said. “Whether it’s for tax year 2023 or taxes as a whole, there are so many things we can look at and change and we’re not going to stop until we get there.”
State Rep. Sara Carruthers said she is optimistic the legislature can make some helpful moves because House Speaker Jason Stevens, R-Kitts Hill — a former county auditor and commissioner — is onboard with finding a solution to the property taxation issues.
“I think we conceivably can get something done before February for sure...,” she said. “Jason’s committed to this I can tell you that because he knows we’re in a bad way.”
Rep. Rodney Creech, who represents parts of three counties, doubts the legislature has another shot this year.
“The budget’s passed, it is what it is, I’m not one to give people false hope,” he said. “I’m going to dangle a carrot in front of somebody and make promises I can’t keep. I think we had a chance and that chance was taken away and we’ve got to hit the drawing board again and try and help our people.”
Actual value hike still fluid
While the tax commissioner has “recommended” an average 42% value increase County Auditor Nancy Nix told the Journal-News her office has been haggling with the tax commissioner’s office over the exact value increase.
If the legislature had allowed the value calculation change the impact would have been around 25%. Now she said it will be “slightly higher than the three-year average of 25%, but well below the recommended 42% increase suggested by the Department of Tax Equalization.”
Her Real Estate Director Mike Stein said they submitted their numbers to the state on Friday and once approved taxpayers will know their individual impact.
“This information will then be posted on our website by parcel so that taxpayers will have a chance to review their new tentative value for 2023,” he told the Journal-News. “Final values and tax amounts will not be finalized until later in the year after final values and tax rates have been approved.”
Nix has been visiting cities and townships across the county discussing in part the recent property value conundrum, she was in West Chester Twp. on Tuesday. She told trustees there that while their taxpayers were hit hard after the 2020 reappraisal, they won’t have as big an impact this time. This is largely due to the fact the Lakota and Fairfield school districts are not at the 20-mill floor — the other eight districts are.
“You are not going to see the drastic increases in your tax bills that two-thirds of the county will,” she said. “Mostly I’m worried about Middletown and then Hamilton, they are at the 20-mill floor which means as values go up those school rates will not reduce. Meaning their tax bills will drastically increase and the schools will receive a windfall in taxes.”
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