More county leaders express worries about property tax repeal efforts
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (June 30, 2025) – The group Citizens for Property Tax Reform has until this week to submit more than 400,000 signatures to get an issue on the November ballot to abolish property taxes in Ohio.
The group argues that rising property taxes are driving citizens from their homes.
Tuscarawas County Commissioner Kristin Zemis says passage of the issue would cause the county to lose about $6.5 million out of its approximately $32 million yearly operating budget, money that can’t just be replaced.
And she says it would result in the closure of the county’s Veteran Services Office.
Tuscarawas County Senior Center Director Jamie Smith says services there would be drastically cut and satellite locations would be in jeopardy of closing without the center’s voter-approved $1.7 million property tax levy.
Zemis says state lawmakers have also assured her that they are working on property tax relief legislation.