Staff member says property-tax rollback could cut Morrow County services by up to 67%

At a March 18, 2026 meeting of Morrow County officials, a county staff member briefed commissioners on how a rollback of property-tax revenue could sharply reduce local services.

The staff member said the county’s general operating budget for the year is about $18,500,000 and that roughly $3,900,000 of that is directly tied to property tax. “If the property tax were to go away, you’d see an initial reduction about 21% in the county’s general operating plan,” the staff member said.

Why it matters: The staff presentation said additional countywide levies that fund senior services, the health department, EMS, extension services, mental-health programs and the bridge fund amount to about $11,100,000, and municipal and township levies bring in roughly $7,900,000. Combining those figures, the staff member said, could lead to a reduction in countywide services in the neighborhood of 60–67% if the property-tax revenue stream were eliminated and no offsetting revenue were found.

The briefing noted legal constraints on local revenue-raising options. The staff member said the county currently collects 1.5 percentage points of local sales tax above the state and that state law limits additional local sales-tax capacity; “we do have room to add another 1 and a half percent,” the speaker said, but added that even the maximum available increase would not fully replace lost property-tax revenue. The staff estimated the county would need to add roughly 3.456 percentage points to cover those services, a figure the presenter said was not feasible under current statutory limits.

Commissioners discussed public expectations that the state would replace lost revenues and emphasized the need for public education about local limits. Commissioner Mason agreed that residents signing petitions may assume the state will fill gaps, but warned that state action would not necessarily occur in time to prevent cuts.

The staff member said the figures came from publicly posted county materials and noted they would prepare a clearer report for commissioners and the public in the coming weeks to explain the assumptions and sources. The speaker also said there is a strong possibility the issue could appear on the November ballot.

What was not decided: Commissioners did not vote on a specific revenue measure or change policy during this meeting. The presentation was informational; staff were asked to prepare a clearer, shareable report and materials for public education.

The county’s next procedural step on the topic was to have staff refine the numbers and present the analysis to the board for further guidance; no vote was taken at this meeting on tax policy or levy placement.