Title
A RESOLUTION OPPOSING HOUSE BILL 335 AND URGING THE OHIO GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO REJECT LEGISLATION THAT ELIMINATES INSIDE MILLAGE AND TRANSFERS LOCAL BUDGETARY AUTHORITY TO COUNTY BUDGET COMMISSIONS, AND THE DECLARATION OF AN EMERGENCY
Body
WHEREAS, House Bill 335 (HB 335), introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives as the “Property Tax Relief Now Act,” proposes sweeping changes to the property tax system in Ohio, including the elimination of unvoted inside millage for counties, municipalities, and school districts beginning in tax year 2025; and
WHEREAS, inside millage is a long-standing and vital source of revenue that supports the provision of essential local services such as police and fire protection, mandatory contributions to the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, infrastructure maintenance, and parks and recreation without the need for voter approval; and
WHEREAS, HB 335 would centralize fiscal oversight by granting county budget commissions new authority to limit local property tax rates, review and revise municipal budgets, and reduce levies based on their determination of carryover balances-despite these commissions being largely unknown to the public and unelected by the residents they would impact; and
WHEREAS, the provisions of HB 335 would undermine the principle of local control by allowing a county-level body to override the budgetary decisions of locally elected officials and reduce revenues approved by voters or budgeted based on local priorities; and
WHEREAS, this legislation would create fiscal uncertainty for cities and villages across Ohio, many of which have responsibly managed their finances and rely on inside millage to fund operations without asking voters for additional taxes; and
WHEREAS, HB 335 imposes these changes without providing revenue replace by the state for municipalities, potentially threatening the delivery of basic public services and shifting the burden to income or sales taxes; and
WHEREAS, the City of Groveport supports meaningful, collaborative property tax reform, but believes HB 335’s approach is unbalanced and detrimental to the financial health and self-determination of Ohio’s local governments;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GROVEPORT, OHIO, THAT:
Section 1: That Council hereby expresses its strong opposition to House Bill 335 and urges the Ohio General Assembly to reject this legislation in its current form.
Section 2: That Council specifically opposes provisions in HB 335 that:
(a) Eliminate municipalities’ authority to levy inside millage; and
(b) Transfer budgetary authority from locally elected officials to unelected county budget commissions.
Section 3: That the Clerk of Council is hereby directed to forward a certified copy of this resolution to members of the Ohio General Assembly representing Groveport Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and local media outlets.
Section 4: That this resolution be deemed an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the health, safety, and general welfare of the community to the extent that this legislation must be enacted in a timely manner in order for the City to state immediately its position with respect to the financial impact that House Bill 335 will impose upon the City if enacted.
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Lance Westcamp, Mayor
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Mindy Kay, Clerk of Council
Approved as to form:
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Kevin C. Shannon, Law Director