In an article written 4/22/09 by Laura Johnston, a Plain Dealer Reporter, it was stated the property taxes in 
Cuyahoga County will likely decrease....yes, that is decrease! In all my adult home ownership days I cannot remember a time when my property taxes went down so this will be very interesting if it comes to pass.
The statement came from Cuyahoga County auditor Frank Russo, and while he said that the taxes won't plummet, they will drop as much as 8% across the county.
Neither the state nor the city would divulge all city estimates, although Russo divulged two: Inner ring University Heights will drop 10% and suburban Solon, 4%. The state will compare the auditor's numbers to actual sales in the cities, aiming for new appraisals to equal 92-94% of the market value.
Residents will likely receive the new values in the mail next month, and Russo also said that his staff will host 60 community meetings for residents to ask questions or voice concerns over value. You can read the article in it's entirety here
So is this good or is it bad?
Lower taxes based on a lower county appraisal might mean the following:
Schools will cut back even more, eliminating sports, arts, or after school programs and busing
Cities will likely cut back on services like snow plowing and trash removal, opting to charge monthly fees
Cities may cut back on services for senior citizens
Projects within our cities to improve our roads (everyone in Cleveland has hit a pothole or 2) will be put on hold
The value of your home may now be considerably lower and become the barometer for a future sale (though some may argue that most sellers are already getting well below county valuations)
A person in Broadview Heights may see the following scenario:
A $350,000 home taxed at the current rate of 1.99% would pay $6965 in annual real estate taxes.
A $350,000 home valued at 8% less would be a new valuation of $322,000 and the annual taxes would drop to $6407. a difference of $558 per year or $46 per month.
But if the values in Broadview Heights are decreased by only 4%, that would mean that $350,000 home would drop to $336,000 and the savings would drop to $279 annually or $23 per month. That does not seem like that much of a savings if any of the above happens. If residents get charged $10.00 per month for trash removal, the savings is now down to $13.00 per month.
It seems like kind of a catch 22 to me but on the other hand, if my property value is steadily dropping, which it has been, why continue to pay taxes on a higher value?
If you would like to buy or sell a home in Brecksville Ohio or in the surrounding communities, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate. Information is obtained from Neohrex and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
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