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Auditors and taxpayers groups back bill to tie 20‑mill floor growth to inflation
Summary
County auditors and taxpayer advocacy groups testified in favor of House Bill 186, which would limit revenue growth for school districts already at the 20‑mill floor by tying allowable increases to inflation (cited as the GDP deflator) rather than to rising property values.
County auditors, taxpayer advocates and coalition witnesses provided proponent testimony on House Bill 186, a measure that would change how revenue growth is calculated for school districts at the state’s 20‑mill floor.
Chris Klein, chief deputy auditor for Lawrence County, told the committee the bill would tie allowable revenue growth in floor districts to cumulative inflation between mandated valuation updates instead of letting increases in property values directly drive higher property-tax bills. "House Bill 186 represents a meaningful step forward in providing real and relevant tax relief to Ohioans," Klein said, arguing the change preserves uniformity, maintains constitutionality and breaks the automatic link between rapidly rising valuations and taxpayer bills.
Tom Zano of the Ohio Taxpayer Protection Coalition and Brian Pereira of the same coalition echoed that point and presented data aimed at showing schools have increased cash reserves. The coalition’s testimony summarized Department of Education data indicating average cash reserves at the end of fiscal year 2024 covered roughly 45% of annual expenses statewide, up from about 22% in 2012; coalition witnesses used those figures to argue schools can accommodate a change that limits unvoted inflationary growth.
Witnesses and coalition representatives said House Bill 186 would not claw back current revenues but would cap future unvoted revenue growth for floor districts using an inflation measure. They said the cap would provide predictability for taxpayers while allowing schools modest inflationary growth. Committee members asked questions about tradeoffs between revenue stability for taxing authorities and taxpayer protections; witnesses said altering House Bill 920 broadly would have wider tax implications for all local taxing authorities and is not identical to changing how floor districts grow revenue.
Committee members accepted written testimony from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Realtors in support. The hearing concluded with no recorded vote or committee action in the transcript.
