By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
We addressed the Lake County Commissioners regarding several items impacting the Lake County citizens at the November 30th meeting:
- The Lake County Budget Commission is no longer the “watchdog” for the taxpayers for excessive taxation by the Lake County taxing authorities.
- The Lake County Prosecutor has given his ruling that the Budget Commission is using an Alternate Formula for the Local Government Funds distribution that has been invalid since 1982.
- The sexennial revaluation taking place in 2024 and collected in 2025, will result in a windfall to the County of approximately $1.7 million because of a projected 30% increase in Class1 (Residential and Agricultural Property).
- Lake Metroparks will also see a windfall of approximately $174,000 annually.
- Lobbyists for Citizens asked the Commissioners, and will ask the Lake Metroparks Board to consider foregoing the windfall in the property tax revenue. The increase in the property taxes will happen automatically without a vote of the taxpayers in 2025 because of the inside millage.
- The school districts will also see massive increase in property tax revenue because of the 20 mil limitation on the HB 920 regulations. Case in point, the Willoughby Eastlake school district will realize over $8 million in additional revenue annually, starting in 2025, without a vote of the taxpayers.
Here is a video of yours truly speaking during the public comments section.
Here are the items that we will be working on for the citizens of Lake County:
- We will be writing to the House Ways and Means Committee about the need for better legislation on the duties and responsibilities of the County Budget Commission, and clarification on the distribution of the Local Government Funds.
- We have reached out to the State of Ohio Tax Equalization Board asking them for the calculations required to determine if the six other Lake County School Districts will reach the 20 mil limitation because of the 30% property revaluation in 2024. We find it unbelievable that only a handful of people in the State of Ohio understand these calculations. (Willoughby Eastlake, Kirtland and Perry are the three school districts at the 20 mil limitations. Their General Outside millage levies are then treated like inside (unvoted) millage.)
- We will be addressing our concerns about the Riverside School District’s bathroom policies in another article. With three females on the School Board, we find incompressible they would not provide privacy and protection for female students for a problem that has been around for 10+ years. There simply is no excuse!
- Also, we are going to share with our readers the procedures for filing a Civil Protection Order, and what we experienced dealing with a Lake County Magistrate named Spangler. This experience, albeit short, told us volumes. . NEVER, EVER give up your God given second amendment rights. It is the only thing that you can count on for protection. It is but another illusion!
- Look for an article entitled “What is a Republican in Lake County?” Quite frankly, we are tired of Democrats running as Republicans in Lake County. We are also tired of big government Republicans trying to portray the image of fiscal hawks.
Stop trying to confuse the voters! Just admit that you are just one big Party, that decides who will win the seats of power. We will not allow the lies, deceptions and betrayals that have gone on for far too long in this County to go unreported.
Are we asking too much to say what you mean, and mean what you say? - One last item…We have always been told if we hear or see something that may be a detrimental to the citizens of the community, we are to say something. All of those in the power positions have been forewarned. You all know what we are talking about. Pray that nothing happens!
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Here is our calculations for the County’s projected increase in property taxes from the inside millage due to the sexennial revaluation:
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Categories: Lake County - General, Lake County Politics