Protection from rising property taxes

When he spoke during a recent State of the Village event in Lewisburg, one of the issues State Rep. Rodney Creech of West Alexandria spoke about was House Bill 187, the Ohio Homeowners Relief Act.

“You all have been hearing about property taxes. Property taxes are going through the roof. Right now. We have our constituents that can barely afford their utility bills. They can barely afford to put food on the table,” Creech said last month.

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, Creech and his fellow representatives passed HB 187, making relief for their constituents one step closer.

“The Ohio House of Representatives today passed the Ohio Homeowners Relief Act,” Creech announced in a press release Wednesday.

House Bill 187, a direct legislative response to property tax increases, will modify the procedures used by the Tax Commissioner to conduct property tax sales assessment ratio studies, according to Creech.

“Butler County is among several Ohio counties where the Tax Commissioner is recommending a 42 percent increase on property value and a 110 percent increase on farmland,” Creech said in the release. If these increases came to fruition, most Ohioans would suffer. We must take steps to protect our home and landowners.”

Specifically, the bill will require the Tax Commissioner to work alongside local elected officials and weigh the past three years of a county’s property values in order to determine property tax, instead of just one, according to officials.

The Ohio Homeowners Relief Act now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.

For more information, contact Rep. Creech’s office at 614-466- 2960 or email Rep40@ohiohouse.gov.