With total operating revenues expected to increase by less than 1% per year, the current 5 Year Financial Forecast projects that the district will be $13 million in the hole by 2022. Because 54 percent of the district’s operating revenue is generated by or related to property taxes, an operating levy and/or new reductions are needed to make up the difference

THe Impact of HB 920

Until 1976, continuing levies were just that. The millage of a continuing levy remained constant; therefore if the value of the property went up, so did the tax. At that time, property values began to rise sharply. The state legislature thought people's taxes shouldn't increase just because their property values did. So, they passed House Bill 920, which limits a continuing levy to collecting the same dollar amount as it collected in the year in which it was voted. House Bill 920 is like a guaranteed tax price for homeowners. Over time, the value of a home fluctuates, and the rise or fall of the value affects the property tax a homeowner pays. When voters approve a levy, HB 920 says voters have agreed to pay a set amount of additional money to fund local programs and that amount can’t change.

What's True Value?

The County Auditor is the assessor of all real estate in the county for purposes of taxation. The Auditor is charged with viewing and appraising each lot or parcel of real estate at its true value in money (or estimated fair market value. In Ohio the common level of assessment for real estate is presently 35% of the appraisal value. So the taxable value of any parcel is 35% of its appraised or fair market value.

tangible personal property tax loss - big impact on MCS

In 2005, the state legislature enacted a phaseout plan to eliminate Tangible Personal Property taxes (a tax on businesses' inventory) in an attempt to improve the business climate in Ohio. Those TPP taxes were local dollars that were earmarked for our schools. Ohio’s decision to eliminate the TPP tax and reimbursement reduced Mason funding by $14 million annually. (That’s the equivalent of a 7-mil continuing levy.)