Cuyahoga County dismisses potential property tax reduction for residents – ‘We need the money ourselves’ (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The potential for Cuyahoga County to give back some property taxes to help struggling residents was short lived. It turns out, the county needs the money to avoid falling delinquent on some of its own bills.

The county started 2024 with an unbalanced budget, with expenses outspending revenue by about $11 million, and county finances are on pace to be “$11 million in the hole” again in 2025, the county’s Chief Fiscal Officer Michael Chambers told council’s Budget and Finance Committee on Monday.

He called it “unadvisable” to reduce the county’s revenues further – by about $12 million in additional property tax dollars the county is set to collect next year – to cut property owners a break on their bills. He also worried that a rollback could impact county bonds. Currently, some of the county’s borrowing is backed by revenue from the inside mills.

“I think we need the money ourselves,” Chambers concluded.

Committee members didn’t contest. They voted unanimously to not only keep the county’s tax rates as is – including imposing the full 1.45 of unvoted inside mills that they were considering returning to taxpayers – but also to put them on a fast track to confirmation. The full council will vote to certify the tax rates next week, on second reading, to meet the Sept. 30 deadline.

Committee Chair Dale Miller later explained his vote to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, saying it is too risky for the county to give up any revenue, especially when it would come with little benefit for the residents who are worrying about how to afford their tax bills next year.

“The county’s finances are not in that good of shape right now,” he said, noting members were just advised of additional expenses last week, as unions finish negotiating new contracts with raises for employees. “The county has too many expenses and too many costs to voluntarily give up money that’s not well targeted to the people who need it.”

Instead, he supports other solutions that can offer residents more relief, including one at the state level. Companion bills moving through the state legislature, Senate Bill 271 and House Bill 645, would create a so-called circuit breaker, offering an income tax credit or rebate to homeowners if their property taxes are more than 5% of their income.

That could mean a rebate of up to $1,000 for a household making $60,000 or less.

The other solution is one proposed by the county that’s expected to be unveiled next month. Executive Chris Ronayne is proposing a $5 million pilot program to help seniors ages 70 and older who make less than $70,000 pay their property taxes, especially if they’ve already fallen delinquent.

“I think the administration is on the right track, that we should come up with some programs at the county level that are well-targeted and help the people who are severely impacted,” Miller said.

Councilman Martin Sweeney had initially called to review rolling back the county’s inside mills, which could save taxpayers about $44 per $100,000 of home value. After the discussion Monday, he said “it doesn’t look like council has an appetite to change it.”

But he pressed the county to do a better job of informing residents about how to contest their new valuations through the county’s informal and formal revision processes, which could reduce their tax bills directly.

The deadline for the informal review has already passed. Chambers said the county received nearly 20,000 complaints and is currently reviewing them. However, he said the number is much lower than in previous years when the county has completed its six-year reappraisal process.

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In 2018, for example, 34,000 people contested their values, in 2012, there were 12,000 complaints, and in 2006 there were 76,000 complaints, he said.

“This is the lowest it has been in a long, long time,” Chambers said, crediting the decrease to informational meetings he held throughout the county this year.

The formal complaint process will run from January through March 2025.

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Cuyahoga County dismisses potential property tax reduction for residents – ‘We need the money ourselves’ (2024)
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