CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati council member has written a letter to Governor Mike DeWine asking that, on behalf of the Cincinnati Property Tax Task Force, he enact a freeze of all property tax increases at 2022 levels, indexed for inflation.
The letter appeals to DeWine and the Ohio legislature and suggests the freeze should stay in place "until a permanent fix to the property tax system is developed."
Signed by Councilmember Mark Jeffreys, the letter says the Cincinnati Property Tax Task Force has heard from many residents within the city who have been significantly impacted by the spike in property taxes. That task force was formed in March specifically to help families find financial relief to help offset the cost of the higher property taxes.
The Hamilton County auditor reported earlier this year that property taxes went up an average of 23.3% within Cincinnati — a much higher spike than the national average hike of 14.8%.
"The human toll that this increase has had, and will have, is significant," wrote Jeffreys in the letter.
The letter goes on to say the task force recognizes that most of the solution for the spike in property taxes will lie "outside of our control." But while the city of Cincinnati works to reduce financial burdens on homeowners and renters by lowering other expenses, Jeffreys wrote that the state's intervention would be key to buying time until a more permanent solution can be found.
"Given the significant and human impact that this property tax increase is having on our residents we do not want to wait to advocate for a freeze in these increases," reads the letter. "The need is urgent."
The letter also says the Cincinnati Property Tax Task Force will continue to work to come up with ideas to address the problem of skyrocketing property taxes state-wide and will share their ideas with DeWine and the state legislature.
Earlier this year, Jeffreys said the task force's goal is to soften the impact property taxes have on families, but the overall solution would have to lie in the state's hands.
"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 Jeffreys in March. "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."
Some in the Greater Cincinnati region saw their property taxes double — or more — after home values surged through the COVID-19 pandemic, driving up property values that hadn't been re-appraised since 2017.
Since the re-appraisal in 2023 and subsequent property tax hike in 2024, homeowners have spoken out in a number of ways,including protests.
At the beginning of the year, Hamilton County Treasurer Jill Schiller also issued a statement calling on the Ohio legislature to help homeowners.
While the county treasurer's office is an administrative arm of state law, Schiller said policies relating to tax payment due dates and penalties on late payments have to be set into the Ohio Revised Code by the state legislature.
"That means Ohioans throughout our 88 counties are facing the same predicament," wrote Schiller. "I have been working with fellow treasurers and auditors around the state to ask the state legislature to act to ease the burden for homeowners as their property taxes come due."
Areas with historically lower property values saw the biggest increases while wealthier neighborhoods saw lower increases. Some areas didn't change at all.
Homeowners who think their home valuation was miscalculated have another avenue they can take. If your home's taxes jumped more than the homes around it, there's an appeal process available.
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