County commissioners draft letter opposing House Bill 335

MEDINA — The Medina County commissioners recently drafted a letter opposing proposed House Bill 335, which would drastically change Ohio's property tax system. House Bill 335 was introduced on June 4 by Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, and was referred to the Ohio House Ways & Means Committee on June 11. The first hearing will be at 11:30 a.m. today in Columbus. If passed, it would make significant changes to Ohio's property tax system, Medina County Commissioner Steve Hambley previously said. "(There are) a number of concerns, particularly involving the elimination of all inside millage," Hambley said. "There's a lot of moving parts and a lot of it's going to happen within the committee this week." According to the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the bill would eliminate inside millage authority for counties, municipalities and school districts in tax year 2025. Inside millage refers to the 10 mills that can be levied on a property without the need for approval by the voters, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio said. For Medina County government, the impact would be the immediate elimination of 2.5-mill property tax revenues in 2025. In the Medina County commissioners' drafted letter, it states the county would lose $19,176,800 or 32 percent of the General Fund budget. The inside millage is used for state government purposes in Ohio counties, Hambley previously said. He described county government as the arms of the state of Ohio, stating that each county is directed to perform certain functions, such as operating a courthouse and building bridges. According to Hambley, both the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and the County Auditors' Association of Ohio have drafted proposals regarding property tax reform. There are a lot of parties asserting themselves and stating their concerns about aspects of the bill, he said. "Hopefully, the Legislature will take a lot of the suggestions that are coming forward, rather than these more draconian efforts in House Bill 335," Hambley said. In other news, the Medina County commissioners passed a resolution rejecting the bids for the Hubbard Valley Radio Tower project. The Medina County Sheriff's Office plans to install and operate a communications tower in Hubbard Valley Park at 8454 Hubbard Valley Road to support countywide safety services and radio communications. On Friday, bids for the Hubbard Valley Radio Tower project were received, opened and reviewed by Medina County Administrator Matt Springer, the Emergency Management Agency director and the Medina County Sheriff. According to the passed resolution, the bids received were greater than 20 percent above the advertised engineer's estimate, which Springer previously said was $165,000. "The bids received by June 13, 2025, for the Hubbard Valley Radio Tower project are hereby rejected and the Medina County Administrator is hereby authorized to have the project scope and cost re-evaluated and to commence advertising to rebid the project," the resolution states. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.