(The Center Square) – Ohio voters will not get the chance to eliminate property taxes in the state when they go to the polls this November.
Organizers of a petition drive to get a proposed constitutional amendment banning property taxes on the ballot this fall need more time to gather the required number of signatures and are pushing the effort instead to 2027, Brian Massie, leader of Abolish Ohio Property Tax, said recently on the organization’s website AxOHTax.com.
The group’s goal was to collect 620,000 signatures of registered voters to put the issue on the ballot this November, 200,000 more than required by state law, to cover any signatures that might be rejected , Massie said.
“If we failed to meet the minimum, then the signatures would be deemed invalid and we would have to start over again,” he said.
The group has not yet reached the 620,000 goal, Massie said.
“We have decided to continue collecting signatures to ensure that we can reach our goal for the November 2027 ballot,” the organizer said.
Ohio law allows the group to carry the signatures over from one year to the next, Massie said.
Another reason for delaying a vote until 2027 is to give politicians time to voluntarily cut government spending and possibly property taxes, Massie said.
“As responsible citizens, we want to provide our elected officials with enough time to address the needed spending cuts,” he said.
He described the state’s taxing authorities as “bloated.” Ohio does not have a problem generating revenue for government operations, Massie said.
“We have a spending and a fraud, waste and abuse problem,” he said.
The group has not said how the revenue from property taxes would be replaced, saying that would be up to elected officials to decide.
However, cutting spending would be a good place to start, Massie said.
“Trmendous costs savings can be made by consolidating the 611 school districts in the state of Ohio,” he said. “Perhaps one school district per county but allowing for multiple districts in the larger counties. This will drastically cut the operating cost to educate a child in Ohio.”
Unfunded mandates by the state of Ohio and the “continual need” to add administrative staff have driven up spending in local school districts despite continuous declines in enrollment, he added.
“It is clear the ever increasing annual spending amount per child is not sustainable,” Massey said.
Recent cases of fraud, waste and abuse in government spending programs indicate the government is not always a good steward of taxpayer dollars, Massie said.
“It is imperative that all fraud and waste be eliminated and those guilty of the crimes be held accountable,” he said.
