Lawmakers ready to tackle Butler Co. property value hike issue

Apr. 26—The Butler County commissioners will soon conduct a summit with state lawmakers to address the anticipated double-digit property value hike and possible legislative moves to lessen the blow on taxpayers.

After State Tax Commissioner Patricia Harris declined to meet with the Butler County commissioners to discuss an estimated 24% property value hike, they have convened a summit to discuss a legislative fix to the perceived unfair state valuation process. It happens Monday.

Harris basically said her hands are tied by the Ohio Revised Code and state Constitution. Some legislators are already considering ways to help like capping percentage increases or addressing sudden shifts in the market, which is what is impacting value increases now in the post-pandemic world.

"We can do so many things at the legislative level to help our constituency by being reasonable," Rep. Jennifer Gross told the Journal-News

After what he termed a "dismissive" response from Harris to the invite, Commissioner Don Dixon fired off a "call to action" email to state senators George Lang and Stephen Huffman and representatives Gross, Thomas Hall, Sara Carruthers and Rodney Creech.

"It was our intention to have a meaningful dialogue with the tax commissioner to find a reasonable solution to ensure our homeowners and businesses remain viable, affordable and to maintain our quality of life," he wrote. "We believe it's time we take the tax commissioner's simple solution and get state government involved to remedy this unfair appraisal process."

So far Carruthers, Gross, Hall and Lang told the Journal-News they are attending, as well as Butler County Auditor Nancy Nix, Prosecutor Mike Gmoser and Treasurer Mike McNamara. Huffman and Creech could not be reached for comment.

All of the other counties subject to the triennial property value update received recommended value increases except Butler County two weeks ago. The highest recommended hike is 43% in Clermont County and Montgomery County was informed their values for residential properties should go up 37% — and commercial by 13%.

Of the dozen recommended increases, eight were in the 30% range, two each in the 20% and 40% ranges. Nix told the Journal-News on Tuesday she still hadn't received her increase recommendation — her office hasn't finalized their own update numbers yet — but she believes based on the other update counties, it will be higher than the estimated 24%.

When asked if the legislators are willing and have the clout to spur change, Dixon told the Journal-News he has talked to most of them and "they're all 1,000% onboard, they're not backing up. I do believe they have the clout to get something done, there's a lot of other counties looking at us saying look, we've got the same problem."

Gross said she is scheduling a meeting with the tax commissioner's staff soon to get a good understanding of how the process currently works and how it is impacting her constituents. She said perhaps the legislature could take a less rigid approach to property values/taxes and be more responsive to what is happening in the real world.

By law, property is reappraised every six years, and property values are updated every third year. However, value increases don't necessarily translate into tax hikes. There are a number of variables that dictate the true impact on property owners.

During the pandemic, home prices shot up, because the laws of supply and demand kicked in hard. People were paying well over list price in many instances. That is what is driving the current double-digit value increases.

Getting creative to save taxpayers

Gross said one idea might be some sort of refund when extreme circumstances warrant.

"We could say wait a minute, we valued your property on May 1, 2023 24% higher, now we see within one year it's gone down 15%, we owe you a refund," Gross said. "We can do anything in the law with that kind of thing to help people, I think it's reasonable. I think your government ought to be more flexible."

But she said whatever they might propose must be "something in the middle that applies to a larger majority". They need to take special care of the older population, Gross said.

"I want them to be able to keep their homes, they've been faithful in our community, they've paid for our schools, they've stayed in our community as our property taxes have increased and so have our taxes."

Hall said he has been having conversations with a number of people on this topic in advance of the meeting, and some are discussing legislation that would "cap the percentage and leaving the discretion up to the county auditor, and not the tax commissioner."

The legislature took a stab at property taxes in House Bill 1 — which was introduced Feb. 15 — but it has gone nowhere. It addressed a number things including income and property taxes.

Nix's Real Estate Director, Mike Stein, said "House Bill 1 was very complicated and would have complicated the entire taxing system the way it sits now."

Protecting property values

Nix told the Journal-News "there are various tweaks that can be made by the legislature to lessen the tax burden" and she will go into those on Monday. But there is the other side of the equation to be considered.

"Another critical point is the need to protect our property values, which are based on the open market," she said. "We need to leave the values alone. It's the tax rates and credits that can be adjusted by state and local officials, though those are, of course, very tough decisions to make."

Nix said once they get past the "shock" of the property valuations there needs to be more discussion about "local usage of TIFs, RIDs, abatements and exemptions that dilute the tax base, and schools' expanded use of substitute or emergency levies that are excluded from the 20 mill floor."

Carruthers told the Journal-News she is continuing to look into the issue ahead of the summit, but "to look at some of these areas and think that they're worth this much money is crazy. I think it's one of those things where we need to have a come to Jesus moment and this may be the time."

Dixon said this meeting is primarily for this core group of people to discuss options for possible solutions. Then they can broaden the membership to other leaders countywide if need be as discussions unfold.

Lang said "I hope to walk away with some actionable stuff about how to stop the insanity."

"I'm hoping there may be a different interpretation that the department of taxation can take on this," Lang said, calling the estimated 24% hike "asinine," and offering to take the lead if legislative action is required.