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Representative Thomas urges stronger budget commissions to check excessive property-tax collections under House Bill 309
Summary
Representative Thomas testified that House Bill 309 would clarify and strengthen budget commissions' authority to review property-tax revenues and require hearings and guardrails to limit "unnecessary" or "excessive" collections. Proponents cited county examples (Geauga, Lake, Ross) and emphasized appeal rights to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals.
Representative Thomas told the Senate Local Government Committee that House Bill 309, the "Budget Commission Overhaul Act," would give clearer authority and guardrails to county budget commissions so they can act as a check on excessive property-tax collections.
Thomas said the bill would confine budget-commission review to property-tax revenue (not income or sales tax), require hearings, and add statutory definitions and standards so commissions can ask questions about cash balances, receipts, and expenditures in open meetings. He described the current patchwork of practice across counties and used Geauga and Lake counties as examples: Geauga's budget commission, he said,…
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