New Philadelphia mayor opposes statewide effort to abolish property taxes
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Joel Day is opposed to a statewide effort to eliminate property taxes, and he is sharing his opinion with his peers and state legislators.
A group called Citizens for Property Tax Reform is trying to collect more than 400,000 signatures statewide to put a constitution amendment on the November ballot abolishing property taxes in Ohio. Meanwhile, two Republican state representatives last week introduced a bill that would eliminate inside property taxes, or property taxes not voted on by the public.
Day says that would dramatically defund schools, safety forces and local governments.
“That would be devastating to operating budgets for counties, school districts and municipalities like New Philadelphia. We depend upon property taxes to pay police and fire pensions and fill needs in our general fund.”
Day, who said the city receives $2.1 million in property taxes annually, is looking forward to discussing the issue at this week’s Mayor’s Association of Ohio Conference in Columbus. He has also expressed his concerns to state Representative Jodi Salvo, who asked for reactions and recommendations.
Day said a better idea would be to reform the property tax appraisal process.
The deadline to submit signatures for a November ballot issue is July 2. Meanwhile, the property tax bill – House Bill 335, has not yet been assigned to a committee.