Clarifying the amount of school levy, Issue 109

To the editor:

We have gotten some questions from voters about the amount of the Issue 109 CH-UH levy and we want to clear up some confusion caused by an oddity of Ohio law. The ballot describes the levy as "5.5 mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to 55 cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation." What the ballot does NOT explain, however, is that in Ohio, the "valuation" applied to tax levies is only 35 percent of the market value of your home--the law requires this.

The Cuyahoga County treasurer explains it like this:

"Property tax bills are calculated on the assessed value of property, which equals 35 percent of the Fiscal Officer's appraised value. For instance, a home with an appraised value of $100,000 will be taxed on a value of $35,000."

We have done the calculations for you: The amount of the tax if the new levy is passed will be about $192 per year per $100,000 of appraised value (i.e., actual market value).