CLEVELAND, Ohio – Across Northeast Ohio, counties are taking sharply different approaches to new property tax breaks allowed by the state, with some embracing additional relief for seniors and homeowners, and others rejecting them as too costly for schools, townships and other government agencies.
The debate centers around a state law, passed in June as part of the budget, that newly allows counties to double the impact of homestead and owner-occupancy credits for senior citizens, people with disabilities and owners who live in their homes.
Unlike the long-standing version of those credits — where the state covers the cost so schools, libraries, health boards and others don’t lose out — the “piggyback” expansion comes with no backfill, leaving those agencies with less money than they’d otherwise receive…