Here are key takeaways from our reporting:
1. Our analysis: We analyzed county tax data to find what areas had the biggest increase. Some communities had large tax increases because they voted for new levies. That’s fine, that’s how democracy works. But we found some of the areas with the largest increases had no new levies.
2. Lemon Twp.: We discovered that Lemon Twp., south of Middletown, saw an average 32% tax hike without any vote from residents.
3. Shawn Wright: Reporter Bryn Dippold visited Lemon Twp. and spoke to residents there. She met Shawn Wright, mother of five, whose tax bill went up $824 from two years ago. She showed us her tax bill, which we compared to her previous bills to pinpoint what was driving her taxes up.
4. The culprit: The overwhelming increase to her taxes went to Monroe Local Schools (ironic side note: She homeschooled her children). The reason her school taxes increased without any new levies is a quirk in Ohio law called the 20-mill floor.
5. Zoom out: This is not unique to Wright or Lemon Twp. In Montgomery County, school districts at the 20-mill floor saw tax increases more than twice the countywide average. In Greene and Butler counties, nearly all school districts are at the 20-mill floor and saw larger tax increases.
6. Reform efforts: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has a working group that is supposed to propose property tax reforms at the end of this month. Lawmakers have proposed numerous measures to lower property taxes, but few deal with the 20-mill floor, even though county auditors themselves say that is the problem.
- “We have been screaming from mountaintops, that’s what needs capped,” Clark County Auditor Hillary Hamilton told me.
7. Taxes, explained: So what is the 20-mill floor? Go here for the full story, including a graphic explaining how property taxes work, a side-by-side comparison of Wright’s tax bill before and after reappraisal, and perspective from state and local leaders.
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