Model house with one dollar bills.
An Ohio group seeking to eliminate property taxes collected “well” more than 100,000 signatures on the ballot for a constitutional amendment, an organizer said. This happens when lawmakers pass bipartisan aid bills.
Things have reached a boiling point for Lakewood resident Beth Blackmarr, who is fed up with rising property taxes.
“My house payment will go up to $120 a month,” Blackmarr said. “It’s crazy. It’s stressful for us.”
She’s been begging state lawmakers to provide some relief — and she’s not the only one. He is part of Citizens for Property Tax Reform, a grassroots organization based in Cuyahoga County.
“Something is wrong and the problem is that the Legislature has not done its job,” she said. “legislature, move!”
State lawmakers say they’re trying.
“The changes we made today will save our Ohio taxpayers $2.4 billion over the next three years,” state Rep. Bill Roemer, R-Richfield, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Roemer and Republican Party leaders supported two bipartisan bills passed this week.
Both House Bill 186 and House Bill 335 limit the amount school districts can get from rising home values by tying tax increases to inflation.
More information on each proposal is available from a News 5 media partner Ohio Capital Journal.
State Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, explained that not everyone will receive relief, but it is a step in the right direction.
“It will vary by neighborhood,” Thomas said. “But those who have had the most spikes will benefit the most.”
Blackmarr is unimpressed and laughs at the legislators’ efforts.
“Some of these things are probably about 20 years too late,” she said.
House Speaker Matt Huffman of Lima knows this and has acknowledged the sudden urgency to pass property tax relief bills after years of inaction.
“I would have to say that the threat of a ballot initiative is part of the reason,” Huffman said.
Blackmarr is leading the movement to eliminate property taxes in the state, collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
“I’ll tell you, well over 100,000,” Blackmarr replied when asked how many signatures the campaign had collected.
For the bill to be put to the vote, the amendments must obtain approximately 415,000 valid signatures.
She said they have no sponsors or money and are not affiliated with any political action committees – it’s all volunteer work.
Lawmakers warn that the initiative may lead to bankruptcy of local governments. Blackmarr pushed back, saying it was better to do something to reassure the homeowners then.
“They have to compete with this ballot initiative,” Blackmarr said.
When asked how lawmakers could win her support, she wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know if they would deserve my support,” she replied. “They need to do something drastic.”
She added that the campaign does not stop at this stage.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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