Auditor Walder, Prosecutor Flaiz, and Treasurer Hitchcock
Urge Property Tax Reform but Warn Against Abolishment of All Property Taxes
Geauga County Township Association Quarterly Business Meeting – July 9, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga County Township Association (GCTA) held its Quarterly Business Meeting on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at 6:00 pm hosted by Chester Township. The meeting location was held at Orchard Hills at Patterson Farm, 11414 Caves Rd., Chesterland, OH 44026. This meeting was in person with no virtual attendance option.
Meeting Attendance: Many Geauga County and Township officials attended this meeting; over 100 individuals were registered to attend. Some attendees of note include but are not limited: County Commissioners Jim Dvorak and Carolyn Brakey, GCTA President Jonathan Tiber, Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Auditor Chuck Walder, Treasurer Chris Hitchcock, Recorder Celesta Mullins, Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, Auditor’s Office Compliance Officer Kate Jacob, Chester and Claridon Townships Zoning Inspector Chris Alusheff, Geauga Soil and Water Director Carmella Shale, State Representative Sarah Fowler Arthur (District 99), and State Representative David Thomas (District 65).
Members of the Public: Members of the public present included but are not limited to: Geauga Times Courier Journalist Anasatasia Nicholas, Geauga Maple Leaf Journalist Allison Wilson, Geauga County Historical Society Manager of External Relations & Government Affairs Andrew Miszak, LWV Geauga Treasurer Sarah Steimle, and LWV Geauga Second Vice President Sarah McGlone (this observer).
The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 pm (after an hour of social time and dinner). The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Minutes: Minutes from the GCTA meeting on April 9, 2025 were approved.
Financial Report: GCTA’s financial report showing a June 30, 2025 ending balance of $13,891.07 was approved.
Discussion: Mr. Tiber discussed GCTA’s past experiences with having a booth at the Geauga County Fair. He also put out a call for those who may be interested in serving as 2026-2027 GCTA Officers and Membership Coordinator.
Zoning Group Update:
Mr. Alusheff provided the Zoning Group Update. He said Senate Bill 2, which has passed the Senate and is in committee in the House, would grant Townships zoning authority for a few new types of electricity generation, such as solar and wind. He noted that Senate Bill 104 and House Bill 109 deal with short term rentals and appear to be identical or nearly so. He said that there have been no changes with Senate Bill 122 since the last GCTA meeting; he explained that this bill would take away local township zoning authority for certain agricultural lots. Mr. Alusheff stated that the last GCTA Zoning Group meeting was well attended, and the next meeting will be August 27 at 6:30 pm at Chester Town Hall. He said the group is planning to draft letters opposing SB122 to be sent to Trustees and other elected officials.
Legislative Alert:
Ms. Jacob provided the Legislative Alert Update, which focused on the recently passed State Budget (House Bill 96). She noted that the Legislature may override Governor Dewine’s vetoes of certain budget items, so some things may still change. She detailed provisions in the State budget that may affect local government, including (but not limited to) a 0.05% increase to the Local Government Fund allocation, an annual $25 million increase to the Brownfield Remediation Fund, Townships now being allowed to increase taxes on resort areas to 2%, reduction of the State income tax to a flat 2.75% (which may have the effect of reducing the Local Government Fund), and a 5% pay raise for elected officials.
Property Tax and Property Tax Reform Discussion:
Auditor Chuck Walder, Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, and Treasurer Chris Hitchcock conducted a lengthy discussion on property taxes and potential property tax reforms that was moderated by Mr. Tiber.
Mr. Tiber asked if they each thought that there was a need for property tax reform; all agreed that there was.
Mr. Tiber pointed out that there is a “well-organized, grassroots movement” pursuing a constitutional amendment to abolish all property taxes in the State of Ohio. Observer Note: For more information, see a recent WKYC article discussing this movement. He asked why has it come to this? Mr. Walder responded that the idea of getting rid of property taxes is “enticing” to everyone. He noted that there has been a growing sense of frustration with both state and local government due to its inaction regarding property tax increases. He said this was not a new problem, noting that school funding (largely financed through property taxes) was declared unconstitutional decades ago but has not been fixed. Mr. Walder opined that the property tax abolishment movement is an outgrowth of this issue and should be taken seriously.
Mr. Walder said Geauga was among the first counties in Ohio to recognize the recent property revaluations (completed in Geauga in 2023) would cause increased property taxes because home values went up by so much, and he said Geauga was unique in the State because the County, all Townships, and one school distinct (West Geauga) took action to give a portion of their property tax windfall back to the Geauga taxpayers. He felt that this tempered the amount of pushback and anger from Geaugans regarding property taxes as compared to the reaction in the rest of the State. Mr. Walder said Geauga has the opportunity “to be leaders and stay ahead of the problem.”
Mr. Tiber noted that there are property tax reform efforts underway by the Legislature, including property tax reforms in the recently passed State Budget (House Bill 96). He noted that Governor Dewine vetoed several of these reforms. Observer Note: The Governor’s full list of vetoed budget items is available here. This topic will be discussed in more detail below. Mr. Tiber pointed out that State Representatives Sarah Fowler Arthur (whose district covers much of Geauga County) and David Thomas (whose district covers portions of Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties) were present and that Representative Thomas is particularly active in property tax reform efforts. Observer Note: Rep. Thomas is the primary sponsor of House Bill 335, which would repeal the inside millage portion of property taxes for most entities excluding Townships. It is currently in committee in the House. Reviewer Note: The repeal of inside millage would reduce property taxes in Ohio by $3.5 billion, money currently used to fund schools, cities, counties and townships with no mechanism included to offset any of the reduction. Mr. Tiber said the purpose for the current discussion is to clear up confusion around property tax reform and to consider what the potential effects of property tax reform might be on Geauga. He said he had no further questions and invited Mr. Walder, Mr. Flaiz, and Mr. Hitchcock to provide further insight on property tax reform.
Mr. Flaiz introduced himself to the audience and stated that Mr. Walder, Mr. Hitchcock and himself comprise the Budget Commission but they are not acting as the Budget Commission during this discussion in order to avoid an open meeting violation. He did note that much of the property tax reform in the State Budget “is focusing on going through the county Budget Commissions” and said that the Geauga Budget Commission is a state-wide leader in performing its statutory duties, which include providing oversight to taxing authorities by reviewing entity budgets. He said that the Budget Commissions of some counties do not even hold Budget Hearings. Observer Note: The Geauga County Budget Commission’s 2026 Budget Hearings are scheduled for August 18 and 19, 2025 in the Auditor’s Appraisal Conference Room, 231 Main Street, Chardon, Ohio. The Budget Hearings start at 9:00 am on both days. The full Budget Hearing schedule is available in the June 2, 2025 Budget Commission LWV Geauga Observer Report. Mr. Flaiz explained that the State Budget attempted to clear up ambiguity in laws pertaining to the Budget Commission, and he thanked the State Senate in general and State Senators O’Brien and Cirino in particular for reaching out to the members of the Geauga Budget Commission to get their input on the role of the Budget Commission.
Mr. Flaiz noted that most of the changes related to the Budget Commission and property taxes were vetoed by the governor, but those vetoes may be overridden by the Legislature. Observer Note: The vetoed items that the General Assembly will attempt to override are described here. All relate to property tax reform and are discussed in more detail below.
Mr. Walder stated that, if the vetoed items are not overturned, nothing will really change in Geauga because the Budget Commission will continue to act as it always has. He said the potential veto override would benefit other county Budget Commissions in the State by requiring them to strengthen the amount of oversight they provide. Mr. Walder described the vetoed items that the General Assembly will attempt to override on July 21, 2025 as follows: 1) strengthening of the county Budget Commissions, 2) changing the calculation of the 20 mill floor (used for school funding and described in more detail below) and 3) eliminating certain types of levies that can be put on the ballot.
Mr. Walder said that the elimination of replacement levies as called for in the State Budget would prevent voter confusion, as some may think a replacement levy is the same as a renewal levy but replacement levies often result in property tax increases whereas renewals do not. He further explained that levies passed pre-2013 (which he called “qualified levies”) get 12.5% of their funding from the State, meaning local taxpayers are actually only paying 87.5% of the full levy amounts for pre-2013 levies; as long as a qualified levy is simply renewed, it will continue to receive 12.5% of funding from the State, but if it is converted to a replacement levy, the State funding is eliminated, meaning taxpayers must pay 100% of the levy amount. Mr. Walder indicated that most people are unaware of this consequence as it is not spelled out in the ballot language of levies. Observer Note: More information on qualified levies (also known as levies with “rollbacks”) is available here.
Mr. Walder indicated that inside millage and the 20 mill floor both affect property taxes and are challenging to understand. He expounded that inside millage (see explanatory link above for more information) is part of property taxes that is not voted upon and is “directly proportional to your (property) valuation.” He went on to say that inside millage is considered a qualified levy, meaning that 12.5% of inside millage is paid for by the State rather than local taxpayers; he said if inside millage were to be abolished, services provided by inside millage money would have to be paid for 100% by Geauga taxpayers without the 12.5% of funding from the State. Mr. Walder advocated for a requirement that taxing authorities formally accept any increases in inside millage taxes resulting from increased property valuations, and he noted that entities could waive receiving this additional tax money and instead return it to taxpayers.
Mr. Walder then discussed the 20 mill floor. He explained that the 20 mill floor provides a guaranteed minimum level of funding for school districts, and if the funding level drops to 20 mills or less, the tax rate is modified (increased) to bring funding back above the 20 mill floor. He expressed the opinion that the way the 20 mill floor funding level is calculated is problematic because it excludes certain types of school funding, including emergency levies, substitute levies, permanent improvement levies, inside millage shifted to permanent improvement, and income taxes. He said in Geauga three of the five school districts are now at the 20 mill floor: West Geauga, Berkshire, and Cardinal. Mr. Walder said after the 2023 property revaluation, Geauga Townships voluntarily returned to taxpayers 85% of the inside millage increase they received, and the County returned almost 90% of the increase as well. He said Geauga schools received a $4.5 million increase in inside millage taxes and an additional $6 million in 20 mill floor adjustments after the 2023 revaluation, and he posited that this $10 million tax increase was behind the “outrage” expressed by some County residents regarding property taxes. Observer Note: West Geauga was the only school district to return a portion ($1 million) of its property tax windfall to its residents. He noted that the General Assembly’s attempt to modify the 20 mill floor calculation formula (to include additional funding sources such as emergency levies and income taxes) had been vetoed. Observer Note: The General Assembly will attempt to override this veto.
Mr. Hitchcock said that the State does not define what constitutes an “emergency” for emergency levy funding. He indicated that voters are unaware that the term emergency has no real definition when they see “emergency levy” on the ballot, so they interpret it to be an actual emergency when in fact there might not be one. He said sometimes emergency levies placed on the ballot should simply be new levies that the school district must more fully educate taxpayers about in order to get their votes.
Mr. Tiber said he has recently spoken to a member (not identified) of the group championing the abolishment of all property taxes in Ohio. He said he asked her where revenue for services would come from if property taxes were eliminated, and her response was “we’re not there yet- we decided to take care of this (eliminating property taxes) first.” Mr. Tiber likened this to jumping without a net, and he expressed concern about what would happen if property taxes were to be abolished. He asked Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Flaiz, and Mr. Walder to speak about this hypothetical scenario.
Mr. Flaiz said that a copy of the text of the initiative to abolish property taxes in Ohio via constitutional amendment (available here) had been distributed to the audience. He reiterated that all three of the presenters agreed that property tax reform is needed. He said that local property taxes are “at least democratically driven (voted upon by the public),” and he cited several instances of the State taking in/using money without a vote of the people, including the State’s “liquor monopoly,” State lottery money, the State income tax, and the State’s share of sales tax (which he said is much greater than the County’s). Reviewer Note: Currently, the State collects 5.75% sales tax and Geauga County collects 1%. See all Ohio sales tax rates here. Mr. Flaiz went on to say that “the State is taking all this money, and they push the funding of local government on(to) local governments through property taxes.” He called the initiative to abolish property taxes a “knee-jerk reaction to many bad decisions that the State has made,” which he said included not “properly” funding schools and abolishing the 12.5% of funding the State used to provide for local levies other than those pre-2013 qualified levies that are grandfathered in. He said if the constitutional amendment to get rid of property taxes were to pass, Townships would be hard-hit because they cannot levy income or sales taxes. He wondered how basic Township services like fire departments would be funded in the absence of property taxes, or where the salaries for Township Trustees and Fiscal Officers would come from, because there are no alternative income sources for Townships. Prosecutor Flaiz noted that businesses and stores were unlikely to reduce prices if their property taxes were eliminated. He observed that some retail entities are large consumers of local government resources like safety forces, and without property taxes these businesses would only be contributing a small portion of sales taxes and perhaps income taxes (if located in a municipality) to fund local government. Mr. Flaiz said he understood the frustration with high property taxes motivating the property tax abolishment initiative, but he said there are other ways to make property taxes more fair, such as increasing homestead exemptions and restructuring school funding. He said he hopes that if the property tax reform measures in the State Budget are reestablished through veto override, people will no longer feel the need to get rid of all property taxes.
Mr. Walder said that landlords were unlikely to reduce rent if property taxes were abolished because the market is what sets the rent. He stated that he recently met with Commissioner Brakey to talk about possible scenarios if property taxes were reduced or eliminated. He said the “worst-case scenario” would be the elimination of all property taxes in the State. In his opinion, the County would have a duty to replace the money the Townships and other local government entities would be losing so that they could continue to provide necessary services for their residents. Mr. Walder gave an explanatory example of why this is the case: if Russell Township could not pay for their police force, then it would be disbanded and the County Sheriff would have to take over police services. If property taxes were abolished, he hypothesized that the County would have to dramatically increase the sales tax in Geauga from the current 6.75% to 18.13%. Observer Note: The audience had an audibly shocked reaction to this figure, including gasps and stunned utterances. Reviewer Note: Currently the State collects 5.75% and Counties can collect up to 2.25% additional, for a maximum total sales tax rate of 8%. Changes to the maximum allowable sales tax percentage would need to be approved by the Ohio Legislature. Mr. Walder extrapolated that many businesses would not survive having such a high sales tax rate because people would choose to do their shopping in bordering states if at all possible. He stated “you can’t destroy the economy of Ohio just to not have to pay property tax.” He then said everyone present likely understood that intellectually, but he is worried that the average voter may not be aware. Therefore, Mr. Walder stressed the importance of educating the public on the consequences of property tax abolishment. He opined that the Legislature should override the vetoes of the property tax reforms in the State Budget, and he said that relief may “put these people (in the property tax abolishment movement) off, but it may not.” He suggested that people research Brian Massie, a leader of the property tax abolishment group. Observer Note: A recent article with quotes from Mr. Massie is available here. Mr. Walder said Mr. Massie indicated that he would be fine being billed for services such as fire and police if there were no property taxes. Mr. Walder stated that he was the former Fiscal Officer of Russell Township and so he remembered some of the numbers for Russell. Without property tax revenue, he estimated that Russell residents would be billed about $900 per call to the fire/EMS department and about $850 per call to the police department. Due to these high costs, he expressed concern that residents may not call for help when needed. He also wondered who would be responsible for doing this billing and how they would be paid. He again emphasized that it is critical to educate voters about the initiative to get rid of property taxes and the negative consequences this would bring.
Mr. Hitchcock said the most important work he does as County Treasurer is serving on the Budget Commission because it serves all taxpayers. He said it was a pleasure working with Mr. Walder and Mr. Flaiz and that the County was lucky to have them.
Mr. Tiber expressed concern that Township residents would have less control over the amount of revenue Townships receive if property taxes were eliminated. He said it was important for property tax reform via the Legislature to happen quickly so that the property tax abolishment movement members might realize “...maybe this isn’t a good idea, this all at once, no net to catch us idea.”
Mr. Walder encouraged all present to reach out to their State Senators and Representatives to encourage them to overturn the property tax reform vetoes. He said next year is Geauga’s triennial property revaluation, and property values are “still strong and they’re still going up. This isn’t over. So we’ve got to find reform before it’s too late.”
Mr. Flaiz added that the State requires the County Auditor to do property revaluations. He said that the State initially wanted Geauga property values to go up by even more (about 40%) than they ultimately did (about 30%) in 2023, and Mr. Walder’s negotiations with the State prevented an even greater tax increase. Mr. Walder clarified that the rate of increase or decrease in property valuations is ultimately set by the State Tax Commissioner. Observer Note: The State Tax Commissioner sets this rate for each County in Ohio.
At this point the discussion concluded, and the audience applauded the speakers.
Announcements
Observer Note: For a $1 donation to GCTA, anyone present can have one minute to make announcements and “shameless plugs.”
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An unidentified speaker praised Geauga Soil and Water Director Carmella Shale’s hard-work and problem solving.
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Andrew Miszak of the Geauga County Historical Society asked anyone interested in helping with Geauga 250 celebrations next year to reach out to him or Commissioner Dvorak. He also invited safety forces and road departments to attend and bring vehicles to the car show at Century Village on August 2-3. He asked attendees to consider joining the Geauga County Historical Society.
Raffle & Adjournment
A raffle was held for prizes (Rogish Farm gift certificates and Geauga County honey). Raffle tickets were given to each attendee who brought a food donation for a local veteran's organization. After the raffle ended, the meeting was adjourned.
Next Meeting: The next GCTA meeting is October 8, 2025 in Burton Township. Further meeting details will be available closer to the event.
Observer: Sarah McGlone
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Submitted: July 16, 2025
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.