‘I don’t know how we (would) operate a school system.’
Columbus Board of Education Vice President Jennifer Adair says banning property taxes in Ohio would destroy public education and society as we know it.
- Few Ohio counties are adopting a state-offered property tax relief program for seniors and homeowners.
- Counties that opt in would lose millions in revenue, impacting schools and other local services.
- The state legislature did not provide funding to offset the revenue loss for local governments.
Few Ohio counties are taking up an offer by the state to institute county-level property tax relief for seniors or homeowners as doing so would cost local governments, particularly schools, millions in lost revenue.
County boards of commissioners across the state have until Oct. 31 to vote on these new tax credits, called the Homestead and Owner Occupancy Piggybacks, for the next tax year. The Ohio legislature authorized the “piggybacks” in the 2026-2027 state budget. The provision means counties could offer their own homestead property tax exemption or owner-occupancy tax credit on top of the state’s exemption and credit.
Ohio’s homestead exemption reduces property taxes for low-income seniors and other qualifying individuals, like people who are permanently disabled. The state’s owner-occupancy credit reduces taxes on people’s primary residence.
The state legislature did not provide any funding to make local taxing authorities like school districts whole if counties opt-in to providing local piggybacks. So most counties, including Franklin, Licking and Delaware, have not acted on the issue.
Franklin County Administrator Kenneth Wilson said the county administration is not recommending the adoption of the two piggybacks.
“While we are supportive of efforts to find appropriate solutions to the rising tax burden on Franklin County residents, the state has not offered a framework for how counties could make up those costs for schools, emergency services, and social service levies,” Wilson said.
If Franklin County instituted its own homestead exemption, it would cost local governments more than $22 million in lost revenue annually, including nearly $14 million for school districts, according to figures calculated by the Franklin County Auditor’s office. A local owner occupancy tax credit of 2.5%, like the state allows, would mean about $35 million in lost revenue.
Wilson said since voters approved the local levies, it is possible these exemptions are unconstitutional.
This comes as state officials are facing frustrated homeowners who saw property taxes spike in recent years after reappraisals. The General Assembly is trying to head off a proposed constitutional amendment that would abolish all property taxes for schools and other services. But local leaders say the state hasn’t done enough yet to address the issue.
The County Commissioners Association of Ohio said it only knows of nine of the 88 counties across the state that have enacted local homestead exemptions or local owner occupancy credits. The most populous county to institute a piggyback is Butler County.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said of the piggybacks. “I’m not sure if it’s the total answer to the problem. It’s a small, additional benefit, (but) I don’t know how significant that would be because we already have the homestead exemption here. I’m not opposed to it.”
Bubb said he believes tax relief should come from the state level and not be put on local governments.
Jane Hawes, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Commissioners, said there has not been enough time for staff to thoroughly analyze the piggybacks issue and coordinate with levy-funded agencies whose funding would be cut if the county were to enact them.
“The (Delaware County) Commissioners remain committed to maintaining the level of services that our constituents expect and may consider additional real property tax relief measures after the General Assembly provides a more comprehensive legislative framework,” Hawes said.
Newark reporter Josué Perez and Dispatch reporter Maria DeVito contributed to this report.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
