Written by: Terricha Phillips
Cuyahoga County — Property owners concerned about potential tax hikes have until Friday to submit online requests for valuation challenges with the county. In the meantime, local and state officials want the public to know their state representatives are working on legislation that could provide financial relief before new property tax bills are due.
The office of Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne on Tuesday hosted a press conference live-streamed to the public reminding homeowners of the deadlines to file their complaints. The results announced earlier this month of the Sexennial Reappraisal show an average 32 percent increase in property values across the county, ranging from 15 percent in the eastern suburb of Hunting Valley to 67 percent for East Cleveland.
Property owners can estimate new property taxes here and individuals who want the Appraisal Department to reconsider the proposed valuation can file for an informal review by August 30. The City of Cleveland says informal reviews will be completed in November, and tax bills will be ready in December. Complaints can be filed with the Board of Revision from January through March 2025.
Ronayne and three Democratic state Representatives of Cuyahoga County acknowledged receiving feedback from taxpayers, especially renters and senior citizens living on fixed incomes, worried about potential financial burdens. The legislators encouraged residents to keep reaching out to their county’s administrative office for resources to help meet their needs, and Ronayne reiterated that increased property values do not mean higher tax bills for all residents.
Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (District 16-Westlake) addressed how the appraisals shift greater tax burdens onto public services, middle class households and the elderly, lamenting the Republican majority’s lack of support for legislation expanding the Homestead Exemption threshold to help an additional 75,000 seniors earning below $30,000 (Social Security benefits are not included as taxable income).
“People’s taxes are going up because their home values are increasing; however, because your home value increases does not mean that Ohioans all of a sudden have more money in their pockets,” Sweeney said. “Ohio’s tax system shouldn’t ask people to pay their fair share, and it shouldn’t arbitrarily overburden them because of the whims of the housing market.”
Representative Phillip M. Robinson, Jr. (District 19-Solon) spoke about Ohio’s conservative leaders failure in fully funding public school districts, resulting in higher property taxes and more levies countywide, including his community of Solon in 2018, a perennially high-ranked school district.
“Ohio’s funding system has been broken, unfair, and unpredictable for decades,” Robinson said. “Either you were caught in two different worlds – you were in a community that did well then you found yourself being overtaxed; if you were a community who didn’t have a lot of resources, you had underfunded and under-resourced schools.”
Representative Sean P. Brennan (District 14-Parma) empathized with single-parent-led homes and renters concerned about the effects of the higher property values on their monthly bills. Brennan bemoaned the “man behind the curtain” analogy where the state budget inadequately supports public education, forcing city governments to rely more on taxpayer dollars and homeowners choosing between cost of living and supporting students.
“Folks I speak to want to do their part and pay their fair share to help the next generation; with rising costs, it’s becoming way too difficult,” Brennan said.
The trio mentioned a slate of bipartisan bills that would provide financial relief to households, including House Bill 573, to restore local government funding to 2008 levels ensuring $1 billion in tax revenue for public schools; the Senate-passed House Bill 187, the Homeowners Relief Act, would allow cities to set fairer tax rates every three years to protect homeowners from large tax increases; newly introduced House Bill 263 calls for freezing property taxes for residents above age 70 who earn less than $70,000 a year. Upon the conclusion of the press conference, Ronayne said the state has enough money to support public education and ameliorate taxpayer budgets because incomes are not growing to meet the pace of inflation.
When filing a formal tax complaint, the property owner must provide documents to support their opinion of their value, then the Board of Revision will schedule a hearing. Additional resources for residents, including the Homestead Exemption, Military Deferment and Owner Occupancy Credit can be found here.
The Complaint Process:
Residential property owners who want to contest their valuation have two options:
1. Informal Review Complaint July 1 – August 30, 2024 (must be received by)
File an Informal Review Complaint with the Appraisal Department by one of the following ways:
• File electronically through the Informal Review Portal
• Via U.S. Mail
• Delivered in person to the Fiscal Office
Cuyahoga County Administrative Building
2079 E. 9th Street, 3rd Floor
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
When filing an Informal Review Complaint, the property owner must provide documents to support their opinion of value. Residents will receive notification of any valuation adjustment in November.
2. Formal Tax Complaint January 1 – March 31, 2024
File a Formal Tax Complaint against the valuation of Real Property by one of the following ways:
• Electronically with a DTE Form 1 through the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision during the complaint filing period
• Via U.S. Mail, email (BORinfo@cuyahogacounty.us) or fax (216-443-8282)
Delivered in person to the Board of Revision
Cuyahoga County Administrative Building
2079 E. 9th Street, 2nd Floor
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
