Ohio property-tax cap fight escalates — what it could mean for Richland County homeowners

Two Republican state representatives, Jeff LaRe of House District 73 and Kevin D. Miller of House District 69, of Newark, have introduced a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap annual growth in the taxable value of an owner-occupied home at the rate of inflation, with a maximum increase of 3% per year.

The cap is not yet law. The sponsors aim to put it on the May 4, 2027 primary ballot, but under the Ohio Constitution it must first win three-fifths approval — 60% — in both the Ohio House and Senate before it can be submitted to voters.

The protection is tied to the home, not the person in the abstract. It applies to an owner-occupied residence only so long as the owner or the owner's spouse keeps living there, and any growth above the cap stays untaxed while that condition holds. But the protection ends when the property is sold, resetting the new owner's taxable value to current value.

The cap would not apply to home improvements that raise a property's value, except for certain repairs made after damage.

Why this sounds like relief to a Richland County homeowner: the county is undergoing a state-mandated 2026 triennial update, which is showing substantial increases in assessed home values that could translate into higher tax bills for many owners.

The squeeze is concrete and local. Richland County's 2026 preliminary residential property values rose about 28% overall, according to Richland County Auditor Pat Dropsey, and a Mansfield homeowner's property taxes rose 65% as a result of the state-mandated triennial update, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Rob McColley, the Ohio Senate President and state senator for Senate District 1, is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor as Vivek Ramaswamy's running mate — placing the person who controls the Senate agenda directly inside the governor's race.

McColley was unanimously elected Senate President in January 2025 and represents Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Fulton, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, and Williams counties, plus part of Logan County.

McColley, the Ohio Senate President, said, "Ohioans have made it clear property taxes are out of control. They're right. We heard you. We acted to rein in a system..."

The tax-cap message is being carried directly into campaign events. McColley appeared alongside Ramaswamy at a Toledo town hall, where Ramaswamy, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, called the plan "the biggest property tax cut Ohio has ever seen."

As Senate President and Ramaswamy's running mate, McColley controls the Senate agenda, and he and House Speaker Matt Huffman have publicly endorsed a 90-day suspension of Ohio's gas tax and pledged to move it "immediately."

The governor's race is close. Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are in a tight contest, with a September 2026 Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll showing Acton leading Ramaswamy 48% to 45%, within the margin of error.

The race has tightened in the ratings: the Cook Political Report has moved its rating of the Ohio governor's race from "Lean Republican" to "Toss-Up," and Inside Elections has moved it from "Lean Republican" to "Tilt Republican."

The cap limits how fast an individual homeowner's taxable value can grow — to the rate of inflation, capped at 3% a year — which means the amount of relief depends on how fast a given home's value and bill were rising in the first place.

Because the protection ends when a home is sold — resetting the new owner's taxable value to current value — the benefit accrues to the person who stays put, not to the person who buys in.

Relief is not evenly distributed. Homeowners whose values and bills are climbing fastest stand to benefit most from a hard cap, while owners whose values are rising slowly — or who are already protected by existing credits — may see little change on their bill.

The contrast with the alternative on the ballot is sharp. Acton, a physician and former Ohio Department of Health director, has not endorsed the 3% cap, instead proposing targeted relief — expanding the Homestead Exemption and creating a property-tax spike rebate — rather than a blanket limit.

Acton's plan is means-tested and spike-tested: it would raise Homestead Exemption income eligibility from about $41,000 to $50,000 for seniors and some disabled homeowners, and create a rebate of up to $1,000 for homeowners with incomes below $132,000, homes valued at or below $350,000, and bills that rose more than 4% in the prior year.

Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said, "I am laser-focused on lowering costs for Ohioans, including through property tax relief. Through my Property Tax Relief Plan, I will expand the Homestead Exemption to protect more Ohio seniors; put more money in Ohioans' pockets with a property tax spike rebate; crack down on predatory collection practices to protect taxpayers; and push to finally fully implement the Bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan to fund our public schools and remove this burden from property taxpayers. It's time we finally deliver meaningful relief to Ohio families and seniors."

The local governments that depend on property-tax revenue are the same ones a Richland County homeowner relies on every day. Public school districts rely on local funding for just over half of their total revenues, and roughly 80% of that local funding comes from property taxes.

Richland County has 16 public school districts, including Mansfield City, Madison Local, Lexington Local, Ontario Local, Clear Fork Valley Local, and Shelby City — the institutions that would feel any slowdown in property-tax growth most directly.

Ohio's HB 920 reduction factor already complicates the picture. It generally prevents a voted property-tax levy from automatically collecting more dollars when values rise after a reappraisal, with growth coming mainly from new construction — while the unvoted 10-mill "inside millage" is not subject to that reduction and can grow with value.

The local stakes are already being measured in dollars. Richland County commissioners approved a 2.5% owner-occupied piggyback property tax credit that takes effect January 1, 2026, and combining that credit with the county homestead exemption would reduce local tax revenue by about $5.9 million — with public school districts absorbing roughly 62.8% of that reduction, or about $3.6 million.

The existing relief is already split unevenly across the county. The owner-occupied credit would deliver about $1.73 million in countywide relief affecting roughly 32,158 parcels, while the homestead exemption would deliver about $4.1 million in relief affecting about 9,341 parcels — a combined reduction of about $5.83 million, of which schools absorb about $3.66 million.

The sponsors have not said how the slower-growing local revenue would be replaced, leaving the question of whether relief simply shifts the cost to another tax, a fee, or a cut service unanswered.

Ramaswamy's property-tax plan is to roll property taxes back to pre-pandemic levels and then cap future growth, which he has called the "largest property tax rollback" in Ohio history. His campaign says economic growth from broader tax cuts would offset lost revenue but has not provided detailed financing mechanics.

Acton, by contrast, frames her plan as removing the burden from property taxpayers by fully funding schools through the Bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan, rather than shifting the shortfall onto local property taxpayers.

The choice facing Richland County homeowners is not a simple tax cut. It is a decision about who gets protected — the long-time homeowner whose bill is climbing fastest — and who absorbs the shortfall, namely the schools, townships, and county services those same homeowners rely on every day.

The amendment is not a done deal. It still must clear a three-fifths vote in both the Ohio House and Senate before it can reach voters, with sponsors aiming for the May 4, 2027 primary ballot — so the fight will play out in Columbus before Richland County residents ever see it on their ballot.

What to watch back home: whether the sponsors ever say how the lost local revenue gets replaced, and whether the cap's protection — which ends the moment a home is sold — actually reaches the working families and fixed-income retirees who feel the squeeze, or only the homeowners who stay put while values climb.