Mayor's Corner: Addressing Affordable Housing

Lakewood has long been known as “The City of Homes,” and I am dedicated to continuing this legacy. An important part of that tradition is that Lakewood residents across all economic spectrums can find an affordable place to call home. However, the latest mass appraisal of property by the County Fiscal Officer has generated justified concerns from our homeowners, residents, and the community at-large that I also share. While Ohio’s state laws place the determination of property tax values completely in the hands of Cuyahoga County, and the City of Lakewood cannot change those valuations, I want to address these concerns here and share some important information.

The increased County assessed values follow larger market trends that show the costs of housing is going up swiftly. They also prove that Lakewood is a highly desirable place to live and own a home. But rising prices and the rise in taxes that accompany them also affect people’s bottom lines – especially those with fixed or limited incomes such as our seniors, the disabled, and those just struggling to make ends meet. Although your total property tax will not rise in proportion to the increased County assessed value of your property, this still represents an affordability issue that I am committed to addressing to ensure Lakewood’s status as a place where people from all walks of life can find a home and stay for life.

My administration is actively working to address affordability through our affordable housing plan, which invests federal funds into new and rehabbed housing for income qualified individuals and families. In fact, our plan recently won a Vibrant NEO Regional Champion Award for its vision and effectiveness. However, I recognize that this program is not a solution for everyone. To this end, I have reached out to our county government leaders and our state representatives to ask them to engage with me and hopefully other local government leaders to discuss possible updates to real estate tax policy. This is an issue that is becoming more pressing and needs attention. In the meantime, below I have provided a list of important information and some steps you can take if you believe your property value is incorrect.

Lakewood is a community that is proud of its diversity and ability to provide a high quality of life to people across all incomes. Affordable housing is a core value of our city, and I remain steadfast in my commitment to work with state and local officials in addressing the issue of making and keeping housing affordable in the City of Lakewood.

Sincerely,

Mayor Meghan F. George

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT PROPERTY VALUATION

You Can Attend a Public Meeting on Tax Valuation and Speak to County Officials

The County Fiscal Officer will hold a community meeting here in Lakewood on October 21st beginning at 7pm at Lakewood Civic Auditorium (14100 Franklin Boulevard). I encourage you to attend. Additionally, the Fiscal Officer can be reached by phone at 216.443.7420.

You Can Reach Out to Your County Representatives

You can also reach out to your representative on Cuyahoga County Council, who is charged with advocating for this district at the county government level. County Council makes policy decisions for the effective functioning of county government and is charged with acting as a link between county government agencies and citizens. Lakewood is part of District 2, represented by County Councilman Dale Miller, who can be reached at 216.698.2011 and damiller@cuyahogacounty.us. You can also contact the County Administrator, Armond Budish, who oversees the Fiscal Officer at 216.443.7181.

You Can Appeal Your Tax Valuation

If you feel that your new valuation is inaccurate, you should know that you have the absolute right to challenge and appeal the County’s valuation of your process. But you must do so in January, February, or March of 2022. If you choose to challenge your value, the Board of Revision (BOR) will hear your case, and they can be reached at 216.443.7195, via email at BORInfo@cuyahogacounty.us, or through their website at www.bor.cuyahogacounty.us.

If You are a Senior or Disabled, You May Qualify for a Homestead Exemption

The Homestead Exemption allows low-income senior citizens and disabled Ohioans, to reduce their property tax bills, by shielding some of the market value of their homes from taxation. The exemption, which takes the form of a credit on property tax bills, allows qualifying homeowners to exempt up to $25,000 of the market value of their homes from all local property taxes. You can read more about the Cuyahoga County Homestead Exemption here: https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-us/homestead-exemption-faq.aspx

Your Taxes Do Not Rise In Proportion to the Increase in Value of Your Property

In 1976, the Ohio Legislature passed House Bill 920. This law prevents increases to public levies based on increases to property valuations. Because of this, the portion of your tax bill connected to levies will not increase. You can read more about House Bill 920 here: https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/house-bill-920.aspx

To get an estimate on how much your tax bill will change, you can visit this website, which has a calculator that provides the estimated change to your bill based on the new values: https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/property-tax-calculator.aspx
If you do not have access to the internet, you can call the fiscal officer and ask them to provide the estimate or attend the public meeting on October 21st mentioned above.