CINCINNATI — Property tax bills are due Thursday for Hamilton County homeowners.
The Hamilton County Auditor’s Office released data earlier this year showing the average property tax bill increased 10%, while property values increased 34%.
Many property owners, like Bond Hill’s Gregory Romine, saw increases much higher than that.
His tax bill more than doubled, from $1,400 per year to $4,200.
“I just didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I couldn’t afford $4,000.”
Romine, 62, is retired and on disability. He was able to pay his bill by utilizing financial relief from the county’s 513 Relief Bus.
“They put us in a dangerous situation where we’re going to be homeless,” he said. “It’s rough, it’s hard.”
How to best address rising property tax bills is in the hands of state lawmakers in Columbus. Senators and representatives are working through more than a half dozen proposals, though none will reach the finish line before the bill is due for homeowners this year.
Last week, Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) and Rep. Scott Wiggam (R-Wayne County) introduced House Joint Resolution 6. It would limit property tax increases to 4% per year.
HJR-6 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voter approval.
“It has to pass,” said Northside homeowner Sarah Wolf. “It’s gonna make it even across the board and predictable.”
Wolf is an administrator of the Facebook group Hamilton County Homeowners United, which more than 1,000 members.
She said the proposed amendment is similar to something the group’s lawyer was drafting, and she is encouraging fellow homeowners to vocalize their support for the bill.
“Finally, somebody looked at how other states do their taxes. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel here,” Wolf said.
Hamilton County auditor Jessica Miranda agrees that something needs to be done. Miranda took over for Brigid Kelly, who passed away in March following a two-year battle with cancer.
In a statement, Miranda said she has concerns about the proposed amendment, because “artificial caps … tend to favor high-end properties that appreciate the most over time.
“The caps on values seem to be a reaction to the issue of taxation,” she wrote. “If Ohioans seriously want their property taxes to be lessened by the necessity of levies and fair market values, then they must pressure their State Reps and State Senators to fully fund Public Schools and restore local government funding to Pre-Kasich levels.”
Instead of a cap, Miranda is urging state lawmakers to restore the Homestead exemption and eliminate the income limits.
“The most effective solution would be to allow the HB920 rollbacks to function as intended and to remove exceptions such as the '20 mill floor,'” she said. “There’s a multi-layer solution, and it’s very complex, but the time to act was long ago and our State Government needs to step up to the plate."
Recent research by non-profit eruka found that communities of color and lower income neighborhoods saw higher tax increases.
“It’s really hairy right now,” said Romine in Bond Hill.
His next bill is haunting him.
“I am retired from disability. Now, I might have to go back to work because I can’t retire off this,” he said.
