A new property tax task force aims to help homeowners cope with big increases

An effort to address big increases in local property taxes is underway after the first meeting of the new Cincinnati Property Tax Task Force.

Councilmember Mark Jeffreys formed the group, which also includes organizations like the Urban League, Habitat for Humanity, and Legal Aid. Jeffreys says the goal is to find creative solutions to help homeowners manage large value increases.

"It is a conundrum because, of course, we want property values to increase," Jeffreys told WVXU. "That's the American dream, is to build equity in your own house. But on the other hand, we also don't want people to be surprised. I think in this case, part of it was the surprise of it; people did not anticipate it going up as much."

Some neighborhoods saw residential property tax increases far above the citywide average, including more than double in East Westwood. Increases are evident throughout Hamilton County and surrounding counties, but the task force can only focus on the city.

Bryan Corder

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Hamilton County Auditor data

"Some of the work will impact what we are doing here in the city of Cincinnati; some will be influencing the state or influencing the county," Jeffreys said. "So I think once we're at the recommendation stage, then we can address, where do we identify the resources?"

LISTEN: We ask local leaders about plans to address spiking property taxes

Carol Gibbs of Mt. Auburn was co-chair of the Property Tax Working Group of 2019 and 2020. She says the tax bills will have wide-reaching consequences, far beyond just homeowners.

"If people are sitting there with these property taxes that have gone up 200%, they're not going to vote for any of the levies," Gibbs said. "And so while we might want to be a little more careful about what levies we put on, we also don't want them all to fail, [therefore] the children aren't getting services, the schools aren't getting services."

The task force includes a few other homeowners as well. More than 60% of Cincinnati residents rent rather than own, but task force members say they're already hearing from landlords that they'll have to increase rent as a result of property tax increases.

There's a complex series of factors that determine the property tax liability a property owner faces. Those include local levies in effect, the property tax rate of the municipality the property is in and of course the value of the property, which is in itself determined by a company contracted by the county auditor to compare sale prices of a property and nearby properties, recent improvements and so forth. Also playing into the mix: any property tax abatements awarded on improvements made to a property.

RELATED: How Cincinnati's residential tax abatement program works

Cincinnati City Council voted 7-2 over a year ago to end the longstanding property tax "rollback," which had capped property tax revenue at about $29 million for over two decades. The change raised the city tax rate from 4.84 mills to 6.1 mills, the maximum allowed by voters in the city charter.

A recent report from City Manager Sheryl Long says the effective tax rate for residential properties in Cincinnati actually decreased from 2023 to 2024:

• 76.87 mills for taxes paid in 2023
• 69.30 mills for taxes paid in 2024

"Therefore, the majority of any tax increase recently experienced by a property tax owner was likely due to increased property valuations resulting from the 2023 reappraisal process, a state-required process completed by the Hamilton County Auditor," the report says. "Therefore, the Administration recommends that policy research focus on the driving factors behind valuation increases."
RELATED: Reece asks Gov. DeWine to 'intervene' in property taxes in State of the County address

More than 60% of property tax revenue goes to Cincinnati Public Schools; about 19% goes to the city of Cincinnati; 3.2% goes to the Hamilton County General Fund; smaller amounts go to 10 voter-approved tax levies that support social services, parks, libraries, the zoo, and more.

You can listen to a full audio recording of the task force meeting from Thursday, March 21, below:

Here's the full list of task force members; the organizations listed may send different representatives to each meeting as needed: