Hamilton County officials warn House Bill 335 would slash local revenue, threaten public safety

Hamilton County officials briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the potential local impacts of Ohio House Bill 335 and urged opposition to the bill in its current form.

County Auditor Jessica Miranda told commissioners that while HB 335 is advertised as property tax relief, it “is large scale tax shifting,” would eliminate inside millage authority and produce a “massive loss of local funding” that could threaten public safety and local bond ratings.

The presentation and discussion focused on four irreversible impacts the auditor’s office says the bill would impose on Hamilton County: elimination of inside millage; a required county match for homestead credits; an inflation cap and credit mechanism tied to reappraisals; and changes to county budget commission processes. County staff and commissioners also described the state committee process for the bill as expedited and limited to invited testimony.

“The way it is written, it would have a devastating effect on our general budget,” Anson Turley, a county staff member, told the commission. Turley said removing inside millage would cause a roughly $64,000,000 revenue loss and create “a 16.1% hole in our budget,” noting that “the majority of our budget deals with public safety.”

Miranda provided statewide and county-level…