Proposed 3% cap on Ohio property-tax growth could reshape Euclid city and school budgets

Euclid took one of the hardest hits in Cuyahoga County's 2024 reappraisal: residential property values jumped roughly 44%, compared with about 32% countywide. Now two Republican state lawmakers want to cap annual growth in taxable home value at 3% — a change that would freeze out exactly the revaluation gains Euclid's city and schools have been counting on to pay for basic services.

The trade-off is already playing out on Euclid's Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, where Euclid City Schools is asking voters to approve Issue 5, a 6.75-mill additional operating levy projected to generate about $6.87 million in new revenue each year for day-to-day operations. That is the pattern a 3% cap would deepen: when revaluation-driven growth is frozen out, the city or schools would have to cut services or return to Euclid voters with levies to replace the lost revenue — putting the decision back on residents' own ballots.

Reps. Jeff LaRe and Kevin D. Miller introduced House Joint Resolution 10, a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit annual increases in the taxable value of owner-occupied homes to the rate of inflation, with a maximum of 3% per year. Any increase above that ceiling wouldn't be taxed for as long as the homeowner — or their spouse — keeps the house. Sell it, and the new owner's taxable value resets to the current market price.

LaRe framed the cap as a shield against unvoted tax increases driven by rapidly rising valuations. "People shouldn't be taxed out of their homes simply because property values around them have skyrocketed," LaRe said. Miller made the same case in starker terms: "Homeowners can't control what happens to property values around them, and they shouldn't face sudden tax increases simply because their neighborhood has become more valuable."

The trade-off in Euclid

For Euclid homeowners, the cap would mean slower growth in their property-tax bills. Increases in taxable value above 3% a year would no longer be taxed for as long as they own the home. The sponsors say the cap would still allow local governments modest revenue growth tied to inflation.

But the same residents depend on Euclid's schools, its police and fire departments, and its streets — the services that the capped revenue pays for. Because the exemption shields any annual increase above 3% from taxation, future revaluation growth beyond that ceiling would stop counting toward the property-tax revenue that funds those services. For Euclid, whose values have just surged, the cap would freeze those gains just as the tax base is recovering.

Miller has argued the 3% cap is a better option for local governments than freezing home values or eliminating property taxes, while acknowledging that local governments would see less revenue growth unless they take action such as seeking additional levies.

"This proposal alone won't solve Ohio's property tax problem, and there is more work to do, but it is a meaningful step toward protecting homeowners from the dramatic increases we're seeing across Ohio," LaRe said.

"Ohioans deserve greater certainty when it comes to the cost of staying in their homes," Miller said.

Separate from the proposed amendment, recent Ohio property-tax reforms in House Bills 186 and 335 already cap certain property-tax revenue growth to inflation. Beginning in Tax Year 2026, county budget commissions have to adjust inside millage rates so revenue can only grow by inflation since the last reappraisal or update.

The City of Euclid has advised residents that property taxes will likely not rise at the same rate as the jump in appraised values, and directs questions about tax bills to the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer.

The levy already on the ballot

The levy would cost about $19.67 per month per $100,000 of property valuation — roughly $236.04 per year — with collections beginning in calendar year 2027. The district says Issue 5 is needed because operating expenses are projected to outpace revenues by 10% without new funding, and because state funding has come in below what the district expected under changing funding formulas.

A longer path to the ballot

Because it is a constitutional amendment, the measure would need three-fifths approval in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly before it could reach voters. Sponsors are targeting the May 4, 2027 primary ballot.

If it clears the legislature and reaches voters, Euclid's choice would be the same one the school district is already asking residents to make: cuts, or a levy.