City Council sets 2011 Property Tax Millage
June 30 brought good news on several important real estate matters.
The Homebuyer Tax Credit Closing Deadline and National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization were extended to September 30, 2010.
Also, Cincinnati City Council set the 2011 Property Tax Millage Rate at 4.56 mills - holding the line on Property Taxes in the city at $28.9 million (as described in the June 30, 2010 Cincinnati Enquirer article below).
June 30, 2010
Cincinnati
City Council doubles Downtown parking meter fees
By Jane Prendergast
Cincinnati City
Council members cast votes Wednesday that will raise Downtown parking costs,
possibly increase some property taxes
and start the process toward a ban on texting while driving.
At their last meeting before summer vacation, council members crammed a lot in to avoid holding things until Aug. 4, the only meeting between now and after Labor Day when their regular schedule resumes. Mayor Mark Mallory joked that the meeting might go 12 to 14 hours; it lasted three.
Council voted 5-4 to double the cost of parking meters Downtown to $2 an hour and 50 cents elsewhere, based on a consultant's study that found the city needs more parking revenue to upgrade city-owned garages. New rates won't go into effect for at least 30 days. It will take that long to re-program the meters.
Councilman Chris Monzel, who voted against the hike, argued that increasing the cost would only make people less likely to want to come Downtown: "Last time I checked, Kenwood Towne Centre has free parking." Councilman Chris Bortz, who put forth the increases, said research shows that Downtown is not in direct competition with suburban malls.
Whether or not council raised property taxes depends upon your perspective. They voted 6-3 on a resolution to set the property tax millage for 2011 at 4.56 mills - 0.1 mills higher than the current 4.46 mills.
But because the total estimated property tax valuation for the city has declined, the city won't collect any more with the increased millage than the $28.8 million it will take in this year. Keeping that incoming amount steady is why the mayor and others say it's still a property tax rollback. But some property owners will pay more. The final amount will be set in the fall after Hamilton County officials finalize the numbers. Another resolution that would have raised the millage to 6.1 wasn't discussed.
Mark Quarry, director of government affairs for the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, lobbies every year against a property tax increase. He was OK with Wednesday's result, he said, because most property owners will not pay more. "It'll pretty much remain the same - that's our hope," he said. "We may just be a victim of the economy right now."
After it seemed that council wouldn't talk about Bortz's proposed texting-while-driving ban, Mallory surprised him and brought it up. The mayor said he had planned to keep it off the agenda until he heard the police department's view, but decided to go ahead after Councilman Cecil Thomas, chairman of council's law committee, said he asked the city administration for a report, which would include police officials' opinions. That report and a proposed ordinance are due back for consideration at the August meeting.
Council members did not talk about a $6.9 million federal grant to hire firefighters. Mallory said there was still uncertainty about possible financial penalties if the city were to lose firefighters, even through attrition. He said he thinks the city will stay out of this round of the grant process, but that it might apply again in the future.
With almost 100 items on their agenda, council members also:
• Finalized their Monday vote to pitch in $14 million toward the $47 million renovation of Washington Park in
Over-the-Rhine;
• Unanimously voted to give $750,000 to former Councilman John Cranley's Incline Village development project, which calls for 15 apartments and a restaurant off Maryland Avenue in East Price Hill;
• Agreed to a 40-year lease that will bring the Christian Moerlein Lager House restaurant and brewery to Riverfront Park in The Banks project;
• Voted to change the makeup of the Cincinnati Retirement System board, with six of the 11 to be appointed by the mayor with consent of council, four chosen by active members of the system and one by retired members. Written by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, the ordinance requires appointees to have at least 10 years experience in pension systems or other financial matters and requires them to report to council quarterly.
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