Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan explains sweeping Ohio property-tax changes and local impacts

Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan told the Loveland City Council that a December overhaul of Ohio property-tax law will prevent property-tax revenue from rising faster than inflation unless voters approve increases, shifting more funding decisions to local communities.

Nolan, introduced by Mayor Bailey, described the package passed in December as "the most complex reform of property tax law" in state history and said it will have broad effects for school and local government funding. "No longer in Ohio will property taxes ever go up more than the rate of inflation without a vote of people," he said.

The change means communities that previously received higher revenue because property values rose rapidly will no longer automatically capture that growth; Nolan said cities will face a choice to cut services, tighten budgets or ask voters for levies. "That's going to mean likely at some point either cutting services, tightening budgets, or putting on more levies to to fund those things," he said.

Nolan also summarized several specific provisions: the elimination of a 10% nonbusiness (rental) tax credit that had applied to many residential rental properties; the stateintends to redirect revenue from that change toward owner-occupied relief (he said owner-occupied relief would grow from about 12.5% to "over 15%" when implemented); and the legislation removes the practical effect of the so-called 20-mill floor. He said the net result will be small decreases in some second-half tax bills for many districts ("By small, I mean like $20" for Loveland schools in his example) while other districts could see much larger decreases depending on prior revaluations.

Council members asked about efforts to abolish property taxes entirely. In response to a direct question from Mr. Hart about whether there is legislative appetite to eliminate property taxes, Nolan answered, "Zero." He said most legislators consider property taxes necessary but agreed reform was needed.

On the homestead program for seniors and disabled residents, Nolan explained that the legislature authorized counties to expand homestead relief and that several counties have done so, but Warren County had not. Nolan noted a key eligibility limit in the existing homestead program is a gross household income cap of $40,000, which keeps take-up low in Warren County.

Nolan framed the state changes as a move toward local control: instead of Columbus increasing support for local services, local governments and voters will decide whether to fund services directly. He urged councils to consider alternative local revenue approaches, such as targeted income taxes, and offered to be a resource to local officials.

Council members thanked Nolan for the briefing; no formal council action was taken on the presentation itself. The session then moved on to routine agenda business.