Levies boost property taxes as Statehouse mulls fix

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Property taxes in Ohio continue to go up across the state, as voters turn to lawmakers to pass relief, but this fall, Ohioans in counties across the state also have a chance to determine whether they will see another increase on their bill. 

“You're seeing increases almost every year with a new levy,” Mike Gonidakis, a Republican strategist who owns a home in Franklin County, said. “It's just not sustainable.” 

Both sides of the aisle agree the increasing property taxes are a problem, but not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the solution. For example, Gonidakis said the onus is on local governments and voters paying attention when they vote on tax levies. 

“Homeowners need to get wiser,” he said. “Voters, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives need to get wiser because they're going to vote themselves out of their own home if they keep rubber stamping these levies. You need to stop and ask yourself, ‘What am I actually voting for?’” 

Gonidakis said his property tax bill has several line items based on local issues, from the Columbus Zoo to schools. 

“If we were just paying for property taxes for public schools, we probably wouldn't be doing this interview,” he said. “But it's not. It's all these other things that continue to go up each and every year.” 

This year’s election is putting levies on ballots across the state: one in Franklin County for Franklin County Children Services, one in Cuyahoga County for the Cleveland Municipal School District, and one in Montgomery County for the Dayton Metro Library, would all increase property taxes if approved. 

“If you can't afford your current state and your current living now because groceries are so expensive and so on and so forth, then you have to vote no on levies regardless of what they are,” Gonidakis said. “I'm not discriminating against any levy. All levies need to come to a stop right now until we figure out why it's so expensive to live.” 

“Tell [Ohioans] that they just simply need to let their schools fail, not have their communities have services like mental health services and seniors’ services, because the people in this statehouse don't want to act and come up with a real solution,” Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. 

Gonidakis said just like anyone else, he thinks local governments and entities should be tasked with taking a harder look at their bottom lines. 

“We need to start scrutinizing these levies more and more and asking, ‘Why do you need more money? What is your current budget,’” he said. “If you can't balance your budget, look in the mirror. Maybe you don't have the right leadership in there to do that, because at the end of the day, if homeowners have to balance their budget, so do our schools and our cities and our counties.” 

Russo said the reason local entities and schools have to turn to taxpayers is a direct result of policy decisions at the Ohio Statehouse. For example, she said the $1 billion that goes towards school vouchers could have gone to funding public schools instead. 

“We have over a decade of this statehouse and tax policy that has drained our local governments and our local schools of resources,” Russo said. “And as a result, our local communities face a choice: they either cut services and serve fewer students or serve them less well, or they have to go to the voters and ask the voters to pass a levy.” 

“I think that's very hypocritical because Democrats live by the home rule bible,” Gonidakis said. “They believe home rule is sacred, so they want to be able to control themselves. But yet now they're saying it's the Republicans fault at the legislature. That's hypocrisy at its finest. They're trying to kick the can down the street. They want to have their cake and eat it too.” 

And while some statehouse leaders, like House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) have said they will work on solutions, they also think voters need to be more vigilant; others like Russo see it differently. 

“That frankly is a cop-out by the folks here in the legislature who don't want to do the hard work to come up with real solutions,” she said. “It is a choice not to act and not to provide direct relief.” 

Russo said the reason is that the statehouse has enough options and enough time to get meaningful relief passed for Ohioans, most of them bipartisan. 

“We have the time from after the election in November until the end of this General Assembly for multiple options,” she said. “So, I’m not going to just pick one.” 

“What's happening in Meigs County, Lucas County, Cuyahoga County is different than Franklin County,” Gonidakis said. “You can't have a one-size-fits-all from the legislature when you have 88 counties, so it's a local-level issue and our local leaders are failing us.” 

Russo said this will continue to be a priority issue for her caucus until Ohioans feel relief. 

“Not doing this is a choice,” she said. “We have the time to get it done so that people actually feel that relief as soon as possible. This will continue to be an issue until we get real solutions.” 

State lawmakers are scheduled to be back in session after the Nov. 5 election.