Commissioners hold public hearings on proposed tax changes

The Wayne County Board of Commissioners recently held a series of public hearings at the Wayne County Schools Career Center to gather input and provide information regarding proposed changes to the county’s tax structure, centering on the consideration of adopting resolutions to reduce inside property millage while simultaneously establishing additional permissive sales and use tax as a replacement.

The hearings were a result of the introduction of HB 335—one of Ohio’s most substantial property tax reforms in decades—designed to deliver significant relief to homeowners, as well as a grassroots initiative by the Citizens for Property Tax Reform to abolish taxes on real property altogether.

Commissioner Jonathan Hofstetter expressed appreciation for the community’s strong turnout, commending residents for taking the time to participate in the process and listen to the presentation from the County Auditor Russell Roberston, along with the County Admin team, about the County Commissioners’ property tax and Wayne County’s sales tax.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come out and discuss this important matter,” he said. “We understand how unclear this issue is; it also affects me as a parcel owner. Personally, I want to gather as much information as I can about this issue. As a Commissioner, I want to provide people with all of the facts about how this measure would impact the county as a whole.”

The proposed resolution would reduce the 2-mill amount of local property tax millage collected by the county of the inside 10-millage limitation, while implementing an additional county sales tax of up to 0.45%.

Currently, the Wayne County sales tax rate is 6.5% and the proposed change would increase the rate to 6.95%, or $0.45 on a $100 non-exempt purchase.

“I would encourage all residents to visit the Wayne County Auditor and Treasurer’s websites to see what their property taxes fund,” said Commissioner Dave McMillen. “Those websites show precisely how much a parcel owner pays and what services are provided. There were a lot of questions and perspectives shared here tonight, and we truly appreciate that. We know it is confusing, and we are committed to providing answers to those questions.”

The goal, commissioners said, was to seek public input on the matter of equally replacing property tax with sales and use tax.

During the hearings, moderator Luke Martin of the wooandway.com podcast allowed residents to ask questions, share concerns, and gain clarity on how the proposed changes might impact local services, infrastructure, and taxpayers. The commissioners emphasized that no final decisions have been made, and they are still considering all feedback provided during the public meetings.

Wayne County is home to more than 116,000 residents and has long relied on property taxes to fund core government services such as county governments, school districts, joint vocational districts, townships, municipalities, and special taxing districts.

The commissioners say the consideration was the beginning of discussions to understand residents’ sentiment about the issue of sales tax versus property tax.

“We received a great deal of feedback to think about,” Commissioner Matt Martin said. “I would like to thank everyone for their professionalism during the testimonial portion of the hearing and during the question-and-answer session. We expect residents to be passionate about this issue, and everyone who participated expressed their views in a very dignified manner.”

For updates and additional information, residents are encouraged to visit the county’s official website, wayneohio.org, contact the commissioner’s office at 330.287.5400, or email commissioners@wayneohio.org.

Dan Starcher is the public communications coordinator for Wayne County.