CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio politicians took aim at the General Assembly on Tuesday, saying the Legislature’s failure to make progress on property tax relief could leave homeowners out in the cold.
House Democrats sharply criticized Republican leadership during a press conference at the Cuyahoga County Administration Building, urging taxpayers to stage a revolt in the hopes that state laws will be changed now before new tax laws land in citizens’ mailboxes in January.
“If a congressman tells you we just can’t do it and we don’t have the money, they’re lying to you,” said Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake). “They’re not telling the truth. It’s a choice not to act.”
Across the state, homeowners are struggling with higher assessments and property tax increases.
In Cuyahoga County, property values rose an average of 32 percent following a recent reassessment required by the state.
Cuyahoga County property values soar following first comprehensive revaluation since pandemic
Similar trends are evident in other counties, triggered by rapidly rising prices, a severe shortage of properties for sale and sluggish construction activity for over a decade.
Property taxes, in most cases, are not rising nearly as much as property values. But they are rising high enough to put thousands of low-income homeowners and renters at risk.
And although more than a dozen tax relief bills are being discussed in the General Assembly, it does not seem possible to reach a consensus on a solution in the Republican-dominated parliament.
“I want them to carry me out feet first”
RELATED TOPICS: Northeast Ohio homeowners and advocates push for property tax relief as prices soar
“I’ll be honest. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my colleagues,” Sweeney said when asked if the General Assembly would act this year.
“But I will say that every single bill we’ve proposed that will actually provide real relief to the people of Ohio has bipartisan support,” she added. “The problem is we just don’t have enough.”
Roosevelt Oliver Jr./News 5
On Tuesday, she and her colleagues pointed to a handful of relief measures: measures to reduce the tax burden on low-income homeowners and renters in the form of tax rebates or credits, freezing or deferring property taxes for older homeowners, and an expansion of the homeownership exemption, a government tax break that is extremely limited today.
Lawmakers are also considering a bill that would allow local governments – counties, cities and towns – to slow property tax increases in certain areas as rising real estate prices put longtime homeowners at risk.
“If other states can figure it out, Ohio certainly can,” Sweeney said.
The problem is that incomes aren’t keeping pace with property values, and for people like retired Cleveland homeowner Ed Livernois, there’s no way to earn more.
Dennis Spronck/News 5
Livernois has lived in his Tremont home for nearly 37 years. He paid $38,000 for the property in 1987. The county says the current market value is $113,500.
But earlier this summer, Livernois received a letter with the proposed market value: $329,900, nearly three times the current value on the county’s books.
“It was a shock,” he said.
Based on this calculation, his annual tax burden could increase by nearly $4,000.
He lives on $18,000 in Social Security checks a year.
Older homeowners like him “can’t go to Social Security and ask for a $100,000 raise,” he said. “It’s just not going to happen.”
Livernois’ case is extreme – and he plans to challenge the county’s new assessment.
But he is not the only one who is afraid of losing the place that has been his home for decades.
State Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma) said he has been fielding calls from crying constituents – not just homeowners, but also renters whose landlords are passing the tax increases on to their tenants.
He knows what it feels like to lose his foundation.
“I remember when I was a little boy and my father left us,” Brennan said during Tuesday’s event. “And my mother lost our house because she couldn’t afford the mortgage payments and property taxes on her income from the department store.”
Roosevelt Oliver Jr./News 5
Rep. Phillip Robinson (D-Solon) criticized the state for relying too heavily on property taxes to fund public schools – and for cutting funding to local governments over 10 years ago. Now local tax levies for schools and other basic needs are driving up property tax bills. And that’s forcing voters to make difficult choices.
“Columbus, we have a problem. Listen. Lead. And act,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne after Tuesday’s press conference.
“We haven’t gotten the reception we hoped for,” he added of the Ohio Statehouse leadership’s response to the county’s pleas for help. “We’re going to keep knocking on the door. This isn’t something that just ends with this assessment cycle. It’s an ongoing process. And we need the support of our state.”
The state requires counties to conduct a comprehensive reassessment every six years and update property values less intensively in the middle of each cycle. This year, Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Portage and Stark counties are going through a more detailed process that involves driving past each property and analyzing nearby home sales.
Cuyahoga County is encouraging homeowners who disagree with their new values to file informal appeals by submitting photos and documents online, by mail or in person. Those appeals must be submitted by Friday — just a few days away.
Homeowners who miss that deadline — or are dissatisfied with the outcome of their appeal — can file a formal complaint with the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision early next year.
Roosevelt Oliver Jr./News 5
“If you think your valuation is too high, tell us,” Ronayne stressed on Tuesday.
And that’s exactly what Livernois is planning to do. He believes his house is worth much less than the amount the county is proposing.
“I’m 12 feet from a four-story, 100-year-old brick apartment building,” he said. Plus, he doesn’t have his own driveway.
And while his house looks neat on the outside (having financed the siding, roof and porch thanks to a city home loan program), the inside is a mess. The brickwork in the kitchen is crumbling. The light switches don’t work. There’s no hot water in the bathroom. And the ceiling is collapsing in the bedroom.
Dennis Spronck/News 5
And then there is the garage, which has been unused for years and is hidden in a tangle of vines.
Livernois recently spent $450—a significant expense—on a private expert opinion to support his case.
“I believe there should be limits, especially for seniors,” he said of the property tax.
“They should try to keep people in the neighborhoods who have lived there for so long, rather than forcing them to sell their homes because they can no longer afford them – and move to another neighborhood,” he added. “Which I may have to do.”
