Beth Blackmarr, spokesperson for Citizens for Property Tax Reform, told this media outlet they won’t divulge the signature count but “our circulators and signing stations are growing every single day, it’s amazing, we have a great shot at it.”
When asked if the newly passed bills will make a difference Blackmarr said she doesn’t want to “throw stones” at the legislature because “they’re going in the right direction, but they’re going to have to do a lot more.”
The package of bills crafted by GOP lawmakers and signed by DeWine last week promise $3.8 billion in tax relief with a number of changes to state property tax laws. Some areas will see more of an impact than others.
Blackmarr said her tax bill will only go down about $200 a year or $15 a month, “that’s not really helping me much at all.”
She noted Ohio ranks 8th in property taxes and while other states also have to pay for local services, “they do different taxes different ways so it doesn’t all fall on the backs of people who pay property taxes.”
“That is a choice our legislature has made, to weight our tax system on property taxes. They don’t have to, they could be putting it on the income tax system, but they keep taking it off the income tax system and then it ends up back in the property tax system,” she said. “This is a legislative choice they have made that has caused the property tax system to struggle. Ten years ago we weren’t screaming about property taxes, but our property taxes have doubled and tripled so what are we supposed to do.”
After the bill signing DeWine was asked about the grassroots campaign. He acknowledged the huge problem but said it would mean utter “chaos” if voters approve the measure.
“Those services that we fund at the local level would not be able to be funded and the state would be in a crisis,” he said and later added: “The legislature would have to come up with alternative funding, what does that mean, I don’t know any way you could do that without a very, very significant increase in sales tax, an increase that would be so unprecedented it would be more than any other state in the union.”
This news outlet asked Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman if he is concerned taxpayers won’t feel the relief they’ve passed as petitions are circulating. He said that’s why lawmakers attempted to enact reforms in the budget earlier this year — which were vetoed by DeWine who wanted a more deliberative process — but the signatures aren’t necessarily the key.
He said they will get their tax bills before the November election and see, “for the first time ever in my life it was $300 lower, they cut my taxes” and that should make a difference.
“The people who ultimately will make this decision are the people who are voting,” Huffman said. “And I think the people who are voting will say the legislature changed the law and did a lot, I don’t want to get rid of $24 billion and shut down my local schools, because the system really has changed.”
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