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Geneva council adopts resolution opposing Ohio House Bill 335, urges state legislators to reject it
Summary
The Geneva City Council passed Resolution 3635 at its June 23 special meeting, formally opposing House Bill 335. The resolution says HB 335 would eliminate 'inside village' levies and transfer local budget authority to county budget commissions, a change the council called a threat to local control and municipal funding.
The City of Geneva Council on June 23 adopted Resolution 3635 expressing strong opposition to Ohio House Bill 335 and urging the Ohio General Assembly to reject the bill in its current form.
The resolution, read in full at the meeting, states that HB 335 — introduced in the Ohio House as the Property Tax Relief Now Act — would eliminate unvoted "inside village" levies beginning in tax year 2025 and transfer budgetary authority from locally elected officials to county budget commissions. The resolution says those changes would shift fiscal oversight to an unelected county body, reduce revenues that municipalities rely on to fund police, fire, infrastructure and parks, and impose the changes without state revenue replacement for affected local governments.
Section 2 of the resolution specifically opposes provisions that would: (a) eliminate municipal authority to levy inside village and (b) transfer local budgetary authority to county budget commissions. Section 3 directs the clerk of council to forward a certified copy of the resolution to members of the Ohio General Assembly representing Geneva, Governor Mike DeWine and local media outlets.
Council members voted to waive three readings, declared the resolution an emergency, and passed Resolution 3635 by roll-call vote during the meeting. Councilmembers recorded affirmative votes in the roll call recorded in the meeting transcript. The resolution takes effect as allowed by law.
The council stated support for "meaningful, collaborative" property-tax reform but described the approach in HB 335 as, in the words of the resolution text, "unbalanced and detrimental to the financial health and self-determination of Ohio's local governments." The council noted that many municipalities rely on inside village revenue to fund essential services and that HB 335, as described in the resolution, would not replace that revenue at the state level.
