Andrew Samtoy’s Lyndhurst home began as a kit, shipped in pieces via boxcar from Sears and built in 1920. He loves his house, which sits on a tree-lined street. But…
"I get pretty angry every six months when that bill comes, yeah," admits Samtoy.
Samtoy's home valuation has steadily dropped in the seven years he's owned his house. But that hasn't given him any relief from his property taxes. By his estimates, Samtoy should be paying $500 less in property taxes in every six month billing cycle, not $300 more.
"And I'm not against paying property taxes," continues Samtoy. "We have a duty as citizens to be paying at least some taxes to support our society and infrastructure, but to have Cuyahoga County charging me more money when my house is worth less…just boggles my mind."
And Samtoy’s taxes went up most recently though Lyndhurst has not passed any new tax levies since 2008. One reason why this happens in Lyndhurst and across the state is Ohioans live under a law passed back in the 1970s. The aim of House Bill 920, says Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer Wade Steen, was to keep property tax collections from automatically rising with inflation.
"Voters fail to remember that through the 80s when property values were going up astronomically, their tax bills were holding fairly steady, maybe increasing modestly," says Steen. "But yet we never heard anyone say, "Geez…my property value has doubled in five years. This is great. But my taxes aren't doubling."
But the flip side to these laws is that when home values plummet, the assessment rate can increase, in order to keep local government revenues from falling, precipitously. And that's what's happening today.
For now, there's no plan to change the law. The governor hasn’t made it an issue, nor have Republican or Democratic legislative leaders. But a spokesman for House Speaker Bill Batchelder says it will "certainly" be discussed "in the near future" and Republican state Senator Peggy Lehner of Kettering says it’s time to get some budget and tax experts into the huddle.
“This is just one of those things that frankly begs for a bipartisan solution, and I think that a lot of folks are going to be looking for it,” says Senator Lehner.
Many homeowners are taking another route to lower their property tax. They’re asking county assessors to re-consider their property value in light of the real current price homes are selling for. Cuyahoga County projects 26,000 property owners will seek that before this year is over. That would be almost twice the number from 2011.
Of course, some residents don’t seem to mind rising taxes. Nowhere is that more evident than the inner-ring suburb of Shaker Heights which has the highest property taxes in the state. For example, the owner of a $200,000 house pays about $7,300 a year in property tax. Shaker residents haven’t turned down a school levy since 1994. Residents like Myra White enjoy what levies provide…and are incredulous at the thought of anything less.
"What's going to happen to the quality of life in this city if our taxes are reduced?" asks White. "This would no longer be a community where people like me choose to live."
In 2012, many communities will be faced with much the same revenue challenge they had last year…only more so. The choices come down to tax more, spend less or find new ways of conducting the public’s business. As for the taxes homeowners have to pay…well, if history is our guide…most will likely end up paying about what they do now…or possibly a bit more.