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Parma City board requests state certification tied to proposed 1.75% earned‑income tax to replace expiring levies
Summary
The board adopted Resolution 2026‑01‑25.1 asking the state tax commissioner to certify the rates needed to raise a stated amount (the district cited an estimate near $50.3 million tied to a 1.75% earned‑income figure); adoption preserves options but does not obligate the district to place a levy on the ballot.
The Parma City School District on Jan. 20 adopted a resolution requesting that the Ohio Department of Taxation certify the property‑tax and school‑district income‑tax rates required to raise a stated revenue amount the district supplied to the department.
Board President read the district attorney’s formal responses explaining the statutory process: the Revised Code requires the board to state the amount of money sought and request certification of the rates that would generate that amount. The attorney’s response noted that districts commonly obtain preliminary Department of Taxation figures in advance; in Parma’s case, preliminary figures indicated that a 1.75% earned‑income tax would produce approximately $50,300,000, the amount cited in the resolution.
Trustees asked clarifying questions during the finance discussion. Trustee Reyes asked whether the board could request a lower rate than 1.75% and was told the state uses quarter‑percent increments (0.25%) and that if the board later wanted a different amount that resulted in a different certified rate, it would need to adopt a new resolution setting that amount. The attorney’s reading also clarified that obtaining a certification does not bind the district to place the question on the May 5, 2026 ballot; a separate, subsequent resolution and timely submission of paperwork to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections would be required to do so.
The board adopted Resolution 2026‑01‑25.1 by roll‑call vote. The board’s stated intent, according to the presentation, is to replace expiring emergency levies (roughly offset by the proposed income‑tax revenue) and to eliminate a projected deficit in a later fiscal year; staff noted the 1.75% figure was tied to a $50.3 million revenue projection produced from Department of Taxation data.
The board did not set a ballot date by this action. The transcript records the attorney’s responses read into the record but does not include the attorney’s name. The board directed staff to continue planning and indicated that any decision to place a tax measure before voters would require further board action and submission of materials to the county board of elections by the statutory deadline.
