Commissioners OK more homestead, owner-occupied property tax exemptions (UPDATED)

This story has been updated to correct the email address to contact the Lorain County Auditor's Office about homestead exemptions. The Lorain County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an increase in the homestead exemption property tax relief program for some homeowners, including the elderly and disabled. House Bill 96, the most-recent state budget bill, included changes to allow county commissioners to double the exemption. This will allow eligible homeowners to save money on their property taxes. Eligible homeowners can apply for the exemptions authorized under Tuesday's resolution, effective for the 2025 tax year for real property and 2026 tax year for manufactured homes in Lorain County, commissioners announced. Commissioner David Moore said the exemption will reduce "excessive increases" in property taxes for senior citizen homeowners and others, as they and first-time homebuyers "struggled to keep up with this burden." Commissioner Marty Gallagher said rising costs burden homeowners, and the issue "deeply" affects families and the community. Tuesday's vote will ease the strain on property owners, he said, and make housing "affordable and attainable for generations to come." Property tax appraisals like the one that increased property owners' taxes are based on the reappraised announced in 2024. The reappraisal process is mandated by state law every six years. The open housing market, regional housing and land sales all affect property values, according to the county Auditor's Office. The 2024 reappraisal process resulted in a 31 percent average rise in residential property values. The process doesn't necessarily mean an equal increase in property taxes, but it and a quirk of state tax law resulted in county homeowners paying a total of nearly $34 million more in property taxes than they did the previous year. The homestead exemption allows eligible homeowners to shield a portion of the market value of their home from taxes. The exemption appears as a credit on tax bills equal to the taxes on $28,000 of the county auditor's market value of a home — or double that, $56,000, for disabled veterans. For example: A home with a market value of $100,000 would be taxed as it if were worth $72,000, according to the Lorain County Auditor's Office. Approximately 20,000 senior citizens in Lorain County take part in the homestead exemption program, saving an estimated $9.1 million annually in property taxes, commissioners said in September. Eligible recipients include homeowners over 65 who meet income requirements, the disabled, military veterans with 100 percent disability and spouses of slain first responders. Moore said it's clear that people "only rent the land on which the house sits from the state of Ohio." He said it will only become more "crucial to get involved and understand how our government is funded and what services are provided" as state officials in Columbus reevaluate property tax law and funding increasingly becomes the responsibility of local government. Public school districts will face "significant challenges" if property taxes are eliminated in Ohio, Moore said, but most of those in Lorain County saw gains from the increase in property taxes caused by the reappraisal he said. They receive the majority of property tax revenue in a funding scheme ruled unconstitutional the Ohio Supreme Court for the first time in 1997. "Public education receives the largest share of property tax dollars, and how schools are funded will be at the center of future discussions," Moore said during Tuesday's meeting, a message repeated by the commissioners in a news release. Lorain County taxpayers who already receive the state-level homestead exemption will automatically receive the additional county-level exemption, and separate application is not necessary according to the commissioners. No annual reapplication is required unless circumstances change, though eligibility requirements must be met in some circumstances. The deadline to apply for exemptions with the county auditor is Dec. 31 for the next tax year. For more information, call the Lorain County Auditor's Office at (440) 329-5212 or email homestead@lcauditor.com. "We as public servants and the government spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to help the seniors stay in their homes, stay with their families and finish out their lives in the way that they choose. I believe this is a good start in that regard," Commissioner Jeff Riddell said. Still, "this is not the solution to the property tax dilemma," Riddell said, encouraging the public to "resist the temptation to eliminate property taxes because that won't solve the problem, and it won't help fund the services that people expect and need." In other business, the board recognized Oct. 15 as "Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Awareness Day," or SUDEP Awareness Day, in Lorain County. The board presented a proclamation to Lou Brossard, president of North Olmsted City Council, member of the Cleveland Epilepsy Association Board of Directors and father of Brenna Brossard, who died of SUDEP in 2022. An estimated 3.4 million Americans have epilepsy, a seizure disorder, including Lou Brossard's two other children, he said. The Brossards are raising awareness of SUDEP in the epilepsy community and beyond, Lou Brossard told the board. The commissioners also adopted a new board personnel policy manual effective Nov. 7. Interim Lorain County Human Resources Director Elise Hara-Auvil said it is good for the personnel manual to be reviewed and updated every three to five years. The last update was in February 2022. They also proclaimed October as "Manufacturing Month in Lorain County," with an official proclamation delivered Tuesday morning at General Plug & Manufacturing in Oberlin. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com