A group assessing how best to aid Cincinnati homeowners struggling with a big spike in property taxes has issued its recommendations.
The Property Tax Task Force convened by Cincinnati City Councilmember Mark Jeffreys in March this year and made up of local nonprofit, government and community leaders has held town halls, public meetings and discussions with state lawmakers. Their suggestions aren't binding, but will be considered by the city.
Among suggestions the city could do itself:
- Provide another $1 million in aid for homeowners making less than 80% area median income (about $46,000 for a single person). That's on top of $1 million the city already approved for such aid. About $685,000 of the current funds remain, though the task force expects that money to go quickly. The city currently has about $7 million in unpaid property taxes due.
- Contribute about $10 million in city funding toward an energy efficiency program for homeowners. That investment would include workforce development and help the city land tens of millions of dollars in federal subsidies for that work.
- Create an awareness campaign to make sure homeowners are taking advantage of the state's homestead exemption for older adults, which could save eligible property owners an average of about $600 a year. Another under-utilized program, an owner-occupancy tax credit, could save eligible homeowners about $78 a year. About 5,300 homeowners in Hamilton County don't use that program.
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Jeffreys says the programs could be funded with money from the city's carryover budget. The amount of money leftover from the last fiscal year hasn't been released yet, however. Council will have to vote on uses for those funds.
In its report, the task force suggests longer-term solutions will need to come from the Ohio General Assembly.
"Short-term we really need to provide additional relief, which will keep people in their homes [and] prevent evictions and foreclosures, which is really important," Jeffreys said. "But it is a Band-Aid."
The task force heard from State Rep. Dani Issacson and State Sen. Louis Blessing III about potential longer-term solutions at the state house. Among them are bills that would:
- Expand the state's homestead exemption from $26,000 of taxable home valuation to as much as $50,000 for eligible seniors. There are multiple versions of this legislation with different details under House Bill 187 and House Bill 60.
- Allow municipalities to waive late fees on delinquent property tax bills, something currently not possible the way those fees are administered.
- Provide an income tax credit for homeowners whose property tax bills exceed 5% of their income. The bill would also factor that metric into what renters pay to provide them a credit as well. This proposal is currently known as Senate Bill 271 and House Bill 465.
- Reveal more about how property tax assessments are performed.
"In Ohio, assessments are done by a private company that has an algorithm," Jeffreys says. "It's a black box. We don't know how it's done. There should be transparency. What are the inputs into that? A lot of homeowners have been impacted by that. They're confused."
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None of the bills are likely to pass this legislative session but could be reintroduced next session.
Another of the task force's suggestions would create a mediation process for taxpayers going before the Hamilton County Board of Revisions. That would be a more informal process where homeowners could get more information and clarity before an appeals hearing.
This year's property tax increases hit low- and moderate-income communities like Bond Hill and Price Hill especially hard. They've also been very burdensome on some seniors.
"Five percent had their property taxes double, many saw 20 or 30 percent increases," Jeffreys said of city homeowners. "That most impacted folks on fixed income, older folks, and a lot of communities of color, frankly."