Proposed constitutional amendment would cap property-tax growth at 3%, sending decision to Ohio voters

Two Republican state representatives want Ohio voters to decide whether to cap annual property-tax growth at 3% — a change that would write into the state constitution a permanent limit on the money Mentor's schools, fire districts, and lakefront levy run on.

Rep. Jeff LaRe of Violet Township and Rep. Kevin Miller of Newark introduced House Joint Resolution 10 on September 8 in the 136th General Assembly. The proposed amendment would cap annual growth in the taxable value of an owner-occupied home at the rate of inflation, with a maximum increase of 3% a year.

The cap is inflation-indexed, not a flat 3% ceiling: no matter how high the appraised market value climbs, the taxable value used to calculate a homeowner's bill could rise no faster than inflation, and never more than 3% in a single year. Any increase above that inflation-based 3% maximum would be exempt from taxation while the homeowner or their spouse keeps owning and living in the property. The exemption ends when the home is sold, and the new owner's taxable value would be set at current value.

"People shouldn't be taxed out of their homes simply because property values around them have skyrocketed," LaRe said. "Ohioans deserve greater certainty when it comes to the cost of staying in their homes," Miller said.

For the amendment to reach voters, three-fifths of the members of each chamber of the Ohio General Assembly must approve it. It has only been introduced — it is not on the 2026 ballot — and only if it clears that three-fifths vote would it be placed on the May 4, 2027 primary ballot.

What it means in Mentor

Mentor Public Schools has a five-year, 3.5-mill operating levy on the November 3, 2026 ballot, projected to raise about $9.6 million a year for the district's general operating budget, at an estimated cost of $123 per year — roughly $10.25 a month — for every $100,000 of property valuation.

That November request is scaled back from a 4.9-mill operating levy Mentor voters rejected in May 2026, with about 54% voting no; the reduced request is nearly $4 million less per year than the prior proposal.

Mentor Public Schools made $6.6 million in cuts for the current year, which let it trim its November levy request to $3.9 million less per year than the May proposal while still seeking enough revenue to hold current service levels.

Mentor's permanent fire levy generates about $2.15 million a year and is a key funding source for the city's planned new Fire Station 3 at 8091 Plaza Boulevard.

In July 2026, Lake County officials announced more than $9 million in local property-tax relief, including a Local Optional Homestead Tax Exemption that doubles the average benefit for qualifying seniors and disabled homeowners from about $500 to $1,000, a 0.1-mill reduction in the Lake County Crime Laboratory levy, and a $750,000 return of real estate assessment fees to local subdivisions for the 2026 tax year.

The trade-off

"What we've said is that's an unvoted increase when your appraisals goes up, go up and your taxes go up," Miller said.

Miller said the amendment is a more workable option for local governments than freezing home values or eliminating property taxes, because it still allows a small inflationary adjustment, and any tax increase beyond that would have to be approved by voters. "With our proposal, it's not locked, there is a small adjustment, inflationary adjustment," Miller said. "Without allowing any type of increase, that's a huge strain on the municipalities."

The amendment does not say which services get cut first when a school district, fire department, or lakefront levy needs more than 3% growth to keep up with its costs. Mentor Public Schools is already weighing the closure of three school buildings and shifting eighth graders to Mentor High School to save money, even as it asks voters to approve the November operating levy.

Mentor City Council debated a proposed one-year moratorium on collecting the city's permanent fire levy; Councilman Scott Marn proposed it as temporary property-tax relief, while Councilman Ray Kirchner raised concerns that suspending a voter-approved levy could confuse taxpayers or threaten long-term fire funding.

Because the amendment would cap the taxable value that levies are calculated against at inflation with a 3% maximum, the revenue a school or fire levy produces would grow no faster than 3% a year on its own; any growth beyond that would have to come from a voter-approved increase rather than from rising appraisals.

If three-fifths of each chamber of the General Assembly approves it, the cap would go before Ohio voters on May 4, 2027, as an amendment to the state constitution — a permanent change, not a one-year or one-levy adjustment.