CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County auditor found property taxes went up on average 23.3% within Cincinnati. That change is much higher than the 14.8% increase seen on average nationwide.
Cincinnati City Council on Wednesday approved a task force with the sole purpose of helping families get financial relief to pay their property taxes.
City leaders also said there will be public meetings about property tax relief. Those notices are scheduled to go out by the end of March.
"This is a state issue. The state sets the taxes. It's administered by the counties. So we as a city have no control over what the tax rates are, but you look at these increases first of all they're a huge surprise to a lot of folks," said council member Mark Jeffreys. "We can either sit here and do nothing and hope and pray that the state legislature fixes this or we can say hey what can we do here locally with some potential resources."
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While there are no set plans yet for relief, Jeffreys said the whole idea behind the task force is to soften the impact property taxes have on families.
"The implication of it is really concerning so whether folks are senior citizens on a fixed income lower income with limited income or just middle class who are trying to make ends meet," Jeffreys said.
Some of the ideas include lowering energy costs for families who use energy-efficient products like solar panels or heat pumps, as well as encouraging families to take advantage of the city's new ordinance regarding accessory dwelling units.
"Because if you have a couple hundred dollars coming in per month from renting out a basement or garage unit that could more than offset the potentially a lot of the increase," Jeffreys said.
Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine spoke to WCPO 9 about possible help from state lawmakers.
"Nothing is done yet, but there's a great deal of interest, we're all hearing the same thing," DeWine said. "I think something will be done in the future but nothing set yet."
Just last week Cincinnati homeowners were turning their front yards into graveyards in protest over their property tax bills.
"I actually live in Walnut Hills, and my property taxes went up 500%," said Latasha Shields, from Walnut Hills. "As the prices go up and up and up, a lot of us will be forced out of our homes due to the taxes and the taxes increasing."
All of them want help.
