Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley, third from left, talks to the Belpre City Schools Board of Education on Thursday about changes in four of Ohio’s property tax bills made by the House and state Senate. Greenley said the 2026 sales tax holiday will be canceled next year. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

BELPRE — Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley gave the Belpre City Schools Board of Education an update on significant changes in Ohio’s property tax landscape following the passage of four new bills by the House and state Senate, now headed for implementation in the coming months.

He said one of the new bills will see the 2026 back-to-school sales tax holiday canceled. He said the funds that would have been used for this holiday will offset local revenue lost from lower property tax caps.

Greenley said he was grateful of the General Assembly’s decision to provide retroactive revenue, expressing gratitude for the support that helped avoid a significant deficit. He said the tax-free weekend is planned to return in fall 2027, but it would affect families next year as they prepare to go back to school.

“Small families that have kids and were looking forward to the sales tax holiday won’t have that available to them this coming fall in order to free up the revenue necessary to make us whole,” Greenley said.

He said thankfully Belpre residents live in an area of Ohio where those tax breaks can still be found across the river.

Belpre resident Larry Block spoke to the Belpre City Schools Board of Education on Thursday about attending Veterans Day events at the elementary and high school. He said both schools did a fantastic job with their ceremonies and he was thankful for the teachers and students for their efforts. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Greenley said one of the new bills will also place a 20 mill floor cap on property taxes. He said this was so annual increases above the inflation rate (for example, a 15% increase) are reduced to the inflation value (such as 3%). This reform aims to prevent large, inflation-driven spikes in property taxes for homeowners.

“Which is also a reason to celebrate for the property taxpayer,” Greenley said.

He said while the cap limits property tax increases, full property value assessments will still be used to determine foundation payments from the state, potentially reducing “phantom revenue.”

“Just because we get capped at the 3% does not mean that the full 15% property tax evaluation isn’t held against us when we get our foundation payment,” Greenley said. “It does sit on our books and reduces the amount of money that the state sends, which is what we call that phantom revenue.”

Greenley said this will make Belpre look “wealthy” on paper when they in fact are not. He said he is working to speak to local legislators about that.

“I think there’s a reason to be optimistic that in the future, when we get to the next biennial budget, not this year, but next year, that that will be taken into account.” Greenley said.

He said another notable amendment put into the bill last minute will increase the owner-occupied tax credit.

“From 4% they’re going to increase that to 15% so it will be a fairly significant increase on your own property,” he said.

He said to balance the budget, the 10% non-business rebate will be eliminated, resulting in businesses paying a greater share of the tax burden.

Greenley simplified by saying, “If you own your own home, the amount of reduction you receive is going to go up and to pay for it, the businesses that are owning large tracts of real estate are no longer going to get the business deduction they used to get. So it’s cost neutral.”

He said a change to language will now see emergency levies be replaced by “Fixed Sum Levies,” with new rules restricting renewals to five years from the previous ten. He said if a district is under fiscal watch, it may still pass new emergency levies.

Board member Cathy ODonnell said based on what she saw this last election, local voters understand property taxes better than those in Columbus.

“There were a handful of people out there complaining very loudly about property taxes, but on the local level, people understand that their schools and their sheriffs and their districts, that’s all funded in Ohio by property tax,” O’Donnell said. “There are 609 school districts in Ohio, and every one of them is upset about this or concerned.”

Orion Engineered Carbons was recognized by the board for contributing $2,500 to the high school and $2,000 for the elementary school. These funds will be used for end-of-year awards and to help underprivileged students participate in school field trips.

The district also received a donation from the Belpre Area Community Development Foundation to purchase portable AEDs, ensuring their availability for student activities both on and off campus.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com